We are at in inflection point in our nation’s history as we debate what are public goods, the role of government, the costs of essential services and how our shared spaces/commons should be regulated. One of these inflection points is the recently announced effort to modernize and transform our nation’s aviation system and air traffic control.
This could be one of the largest construction projects ever in the country. Faced with constrained resources, how do we simultaneously incentivize innovation, manage foreseeable risk and assure the end result serves the entirety of the public.
In economics, a public good (also referred to as a social good or collective good) is an essential commodity, product or service that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous and generally provided by government and paid for through taxation. We believe the Federal Aviation Administration’s management of the national airspace system (NAS) meets this classic definition of a public good. Essential to the safety of the NAS is the FAA’s continuing provision and management of air traffic control (ATC).
In Maine, aviation is not just a matter of convenience — it is a necessity. LifeFlight transports patients from our rural hospitals and emergency scenes in remote parts of the state to advanced medical care, often under time-urgent conditions where every minute counts. We depend on the FAA-managed instrument flight system, performance-based navigation, precision routes and procedures to improve our safety and reliability every day.
We operate in challenging environments and rely on seamless communication and coordination with ATC. Our pilots work seamlessly, hand in glove with controllers in Bangor, Portland and Boston to ensure safe and timely care. Indeed, the FAA controllers are an integral part of our life-saving team.
Despite current challenges and the recognized need to invest in more controllers and new technology aviation remains the gold standard of transportation safety. We applaud the administration’s recently announced complete overhaul our air traffic control system. As policymakers work to fund the transformation of our nation’s air traffic control system, it is essential they focus on smart, targeted reforms that actually strengthen — not jeopardize — critical services.
We need more controller hiring, better infrastructure and smarter technology to keep our skies safe. We are also in the midst of rapid change in the evolution of flight as our low-altitude air space fills with new entrants in piloted and unpiloted new mobility systems.
We need to accomplish these efforts at the least risk to the safety of the system. Rapid change risks unintended consequences and rural areas are usually left behind in the policy crucible. Managing risk is a given in our work 24/365. We define risk greater than benefit as an adverse event, even in the absence of harm.
Privatizing our long- standing FAA publicly based air traffic control system, as some in Washington have called for, as part of the modernization plan, will actually hinder these solutions while increasing risks to system safety. Simply said, privatizing ATC is a risk more than a benefit.
For a state like Maine, and for medical transport services like LifeFlight that rely on fast, reliable coordination, privatization could disrupt the very access and responsiveness we depend on to save lives. Privatizing ATC will shift resources and decision-making power toward major population centers.
We are unconvinced there is any benefit while we are absolutely cognizant of the major risks to system safety. Such a shift in resources will make it harder to maintain the same level of safety and access throughout the NAS, especially in rural areas, and ultimately make it harder for LifeFlight to save lives. The definition of a public good is that it is non-excludable — available to everyone in the public space and non-rivalrous — not supporting one entity versus another.
We need smart reforms that improve staffing, modernize infrastructure and enhance safety — without compromising access for rural states and life-saving care. We can accomplish this through keeping air traffic control within the FAA, helping to ensure the aviation system remains equitable and responsive to the full range of aviation users, not just at the busiest airports.
Thomas Judge is founding executive director of LifeFlight of Maine/LifeFlight Aviation Services.