Most of us agree there are few government services as essential to our economy, mobility and safety as America’s air transportation system, which is managed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Consider my own story: For decades, I flew an airplane to support my Buffalo-area family business, Manitoba Corporation. The metals recycling firm that my grandfather founded in 1916 was threatened, and we needed to expand our supply sourcing. That’s where business aviation was critical.
Using my skills as a former Air Force pilot, I began flying our small plane to locations beyond our home in Lancaster to find new scrap metal providers. We were successful enough that I was able to turn over the company to my sons. Thousands of small businesses rely on an airplane as an essential asset.
Without question, America’s aviation system is the world’s largest, safest and most efficient, but I’m worried that in the wake of a series of recent radar outages and a tragic accident, some in Washington see an opportunity to advance a deeply flawed concept.
That concept, known as air traffic control (ATC) privatization, centers on the notion of removing air traffic control from FAA oversight and putting it in the hands of some other entity. Along with many others in the aviation industry, I believe the risks are unacceptable.
Privatized systems like the one in Canada, where I have flown for business, all have significant problems related to safety, technology, delays, cancellations and financing. In Canada, safety oversight has dropped precipitously, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization. The UK’s privatized system is infamous for a 2023 IT failure that affected more than 700,000 fliers.
In 2022, researchers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada studied the finances of privatized ATC systems and concluded that they are “inadequate in the face of a crisis,” prompting staff and training reductions.
Are these really the ATC models we in the U.S. want to emulate?
Certainly, we should accelerate upgrades to our own aviation system. But we should not confuse the imperative to continually invest in our world-leading system with a distracting debate over a faulty idea that could compromise its benefits.
Richard Shine is former CEO and current secretary-treasurer at the Lancaster-based Manitoba Corporation.
https://buffalonews.com/opinion/article_a1a575b8-0839-4eb4-acb6-f99a70474dd2.html