NBAA Chief: ATC Privatization Battle Far from Over

“The battle over air-traffic-control privatization won’t end with Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster’s retirement,” National Business Aviation Association president and CEO Ed Bolen said at the recent NBAA regional forum in West Palm Beach, Florida. “We’re using the regional forum to call members to action on this very issue.” Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) announced early this month that he would not seek re-election this year.

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Bolen Issues Warning Call on ATC Privatization

The NBAA head says this latest attempt to float the privatization scheme may be the most serious yet.

Bolen noted that the push for separating air traffic services from the Federal Aviation Administration is “still very much alive,” adding that this will continue to be amplified as the current FAA reauthorization extension expires in March. To counter this, the NBAA and other general aviation groups have created the ATC Not for Sale program, which was on full display at the forum via banners and T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan.

“Members are critical to the success of our efforts to abate the ATC privatization push,” Bolen stressed. “We’re asking everyone to take three minutes of their time to contact their members of Congress to tell them that our ATC system isn’t for sale.” The association has set up a Contact Congress webpage to make it easy for members to reach their representatives in Washington, D.C.