Air-traffic control union chief: Privatization possible, but funding crucial

[Omaha Steve]

Source: USA Today

Bart Jansen

WASHINGTON -- The union chief for air-traffic controllers said Monday he would negotiate with lawmakers and the aviation industry over whether to turn the system over to a private company, as it is in Canada, rather than insisting it remain a government function.

But Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told the Aero Club of Washington he would oppose any effort to make air-traffic control a profit-making corporation. And he said stable funding is more important than organizational reform because funding disputes delay improvements.

"I'm willing to have those conversations and move forward on it as long as we find a stable, predictable funding stream," said Rinaldi, who represents 20,000 controllers, engineers and other professionals. "We will fight and oppose any model that strives to make a profit from air-traffic control services."

Despite broad agreement that the Federal Aviation Administration deserves stable funding, congressional budget tightening and political disputes have prevented that.

FULL story at link.



The air-traffic control tower Chicago's Midway International Airport on March 12, 2013.
(Photo: M. Spencer Green, AP)

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/20/air-traffic-control-rinaldi-natca-aero-club/26072065/

[Cryptoad]

1. kinda like a Charter School for airplanes,,,,?

[bluevoter4life]

2. If I remember in the morning

I will edit this post as to my opinions and why this is a bad idea. For those that missed my last post on this topic, I am a current air traffic controller employed by the FAA.