Washington, DC – The Alliance for Aviation Across America today released the following statement in response to President Trump’s FY 2018 proposed budget, which includes a provision to privatize the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system:
“It is unfortunate that the President’s budget includes a proposal, pushed by the big commercial airline lobby, to privatize and give control over the ATC system to the big airlines, at the expense of the farms, businesses, and other important interests located in small towns and rural areas across America. This proposal would allow certain private interests to make critical system decisions ranging from infrastructure funding, to taxes and fees, according to their own best interest rather than that of the public. Already we see that privatized systems in other countries are run to the detriment of smaller operators and communities. We urge Congress to retain oversight of the national air traffic control system to ensure that it operates in the best interest of the public.”