As the White House looks to cut and reform government, the U.S. aviation industry has coalesced around a desire to protect and update the National Airspace System (NAS) rather than gearing up for another potential battle over privatization.
Nearly three dozen organizations across the aviation industry sent a letter yesterday to Capitol Hill leaders calling for investments that enhance safety both on the ground and in the air. The groups outlined a National Airspace Safety Initiative, providing steps they collectively believe should remain a high priority for lawmakers, such as ensuring “robust emergency funding for critical air traffic control technology and infrastructure and controller staffing and training.”
Notably, despite the array of signatories—from representatives of airlines to airports, pilots, and the business and general aviation community, among others—the letter sent yesterday also stated: “We are aligned on not pursuing privatization of U.S. air traffic control services and believe it would be a distraction from these needed investments.”
This marks a dramatic turn with industry associations that were not even a decade ago locked in a strong battle against each other over the issue. But the letter comes as the White House has been looking at each agency on where it could cut costs and workforce and as Washington think tanks and others raise the specter of privatization as part of that overarching effort. It also comes against the backdrop of a series of high-profile crashes that have led U.S. aviation into its deadliest period since the mid-2000s.