Chalmers 1

Alexander Chalmers

Mr. Hales

University Seminar II

3/25/20

Should we Privatize ATC?

Air Traffic Control (ATC) is a part of the FAA. Their responsibilities include the

operation of airport towers, control centers and flight service stations. The ATC also develops

and enforces air traffic regulations and airspace to safely direct aircraft in all regulated airspace

across the United States. ATC does this by informing pilots about nearby planes or potentially

dangerous conditions such as weather, wind speed and direction or issues with visibility. They

provide flight path adjustments or guidance for pilots flying in bad weather or emergency

conditions. They often warn airport emergency services in the event of an emergency or when

aircraft are in trouble.

Currently the ATC is run by the government, but there some politicians that are pushing

for Privatization of ATC. The politicians have been drafting legislation for privatization and the

airlines have lobbyists whose focus is pushing for the change. The airlines want privatization

because they believe it will be more economical for them. Under a privatized ATC the airlines

will have the ability to adjust regulation more easily and have more flexibility to slash services,

ignore consumer grievances and boost fees and taxes. Privatization would also allow the airlines

to engage in anti-competitive behavior.

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Since the 1980s, the U.S. airline industry has been lobbying to privatize air traffic

control to try to gain more control of the network. One of the main arguments the airlines and

lobbyists have for switching to ATC privatization is that there will be fewer delays and

cancelations. However, according to the Transportation Statistics Bureau, this is not the case. 80

percent of the air traffic network delays are caused by the airlines themselves due to maintenance

or other issues and the weather. The only options to improve delays and cancels would be to

modify the regulations and make them less stringent. Doing so could potentially increase the

risks in aviation and impact safety. Today, flying is one of the safest ways to travel, and we

should not ruin that. A 2016 report by Delta Airlines called out that under ATC privatization,

there would be a 20 to 29 percent rise in airline tickets due to the new ATC fees the airlines

would receive. Travelers have already seen an increase in prices over the last few years such as

additional fees for checked bags, fees to pick their seats, fees for priority boards, and fees for

food on long flights. The average consumer will be faced with more fees and a higher cost of

travel under privatization.

A privatized revenue-based system may result in prioritizing ATC services at larger

airports which produce higher revenues, rather than distributed uniformly throughout the

country. This will hit the general aviation airports since they won’t make much money and will

cost the private pilot more money in fees. Currently the United States ATC system is better than

Canada’s and the UK’s, both have a privatized ATC. In the United States, there are less delays in

airspace controlled by the ATC and the service is free to airlines and general aviation. A study

done by analyst Bob Mann's in 2015 found that the FAA’s already more effective than the

Canadian equivalent at a rate of 8 cents per mile. In the UK, NATS, the UK’s privatized ATC

network, has failed to keep up with passenger traffic, resulting in severe delays.
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According to a new report by the UK Department of Transport, the network "has not

undergone any substantial reform since the 1950s, relies on obsolete capability-limiting

technology. The obsolete infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for

aviation, which have led to delays." If privatizing ATC is failing in Europe and Canada, why

would America consider having ATC privatized? A 2015 report by the UK's Airports

Commission found a decline in airport services outside London, especially in the more rural

areas of northern England and Scotland. The UK’s privatized ATC has seen their revenue rise by

about 21 percent since 1998, while the number of flights decreased by 16 percent as per the

report by Delta Airlines. In the UK, privatization has led to increase fees along with a reduction

in air traffic.

If the United States was to privatize ATC there would be more fees, travel could be less

safe, and general aviation airports may not get the federal funding they need to operate. There is

a lot of evidence going against privatizing ATC, but the airlines and their lobbyists are

continuing to push for the change. If we want to limit fees and grow general aviation, we cannot

let this happen.

Works Cited
Bachman, J. (2017, June 6). Bloomberg. Retrieved from Will Privatized Air Traffic Control Put You in
Danger?: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-06/will-privatized-air-traffic-
control-put-you-in-danger
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FAA. (2018, January 29). U.S. Department of transportation. Retrieved from Federal Aviation
Administration: https://www.transportation.gov/administrations#FAA

Kildea, J. (2017, July 12). AOPA. Retrieved from AOPA: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-

news/2017/july/12/get-the-facts-about-atc-privatization

Sawicky, M. B. (2019, March 5). Market Watch. Retrieved from

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lets-stop-the-senseless-talk-of-privatizing-air-traffic-
control-2019-03-05