The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure recently held a hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the nation’s air-traffic control system.
The hearing, The Need to Reform FAA and Air Traffic Control to Build a 21st Century Aviation System for America, discussed modernizing FAA infrastructure.
The committee recommends separating air-traffic control from the FAA and making it an independent, not-for-profit agency.
Many in the aviation industry disagree with this recommendation, citing convenience and safety.
Joe Brown, a pilot and member of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association board of directors, testified to the committee that American skies belong to the people and should be managed by their elected representatives and the FAA, finding the proposal to privatize air traffic control “deeply troubling.”
“The United States does indeed possess the safest, most cost effective, most technically advanced air traffic control system in the world, bar none,” Brown said. “Models like the NextGen Advisory Committee are working and we should look for opportunities to build on these examples and tackle the kind of challenges FAA’s Management Advisory Council (MAC) has outlined.”
NextGen is the marketing term given to the FAA’s attempts to modernize.
Congress has provided the FAA with $7.4 billion since 2004 but only seen $2 billion in benefits, committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) said.
NextGen was estimated to cost $40 billion, but in 2014 the U.S. Department of Transportation said this figure is likely to double or triple and be delayed for an additional decade.
“Different challenges require different solutions and ours are working well for our needs, thanks to FAA and its tremendous controller workforce, its research and development efforts, strong involvement from the industry and strong oversight by Congress,” Brown said.