A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the latest Congressional proposal to privatize air traffic control would add to America’s budget deficit by nearly $100 billion. “$100 billion. Really?” asks Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Mark Baker. “So here’s how it shapes up: The legislation would hand over the air traffic […]
air traffic control
Trump’s ATC overhaul struggles to takeoff
The Hill is reporting that President Trump’s plan to privatize air traffic control is struggling to get off the ground. The post notes that House lawmakers left town for the August recess without voting on the proposal, which is included in legislation to reauthorize the FAA. The plan would transfer the country’s air navigation system […]
Video: Behind the scenes at ATC
Air Traffic Control is there to help, but for many new pilots, the other side of the radio is a mystery. In a video tip, Sporty’s goes behind the scenes with Air Traffic Control to learn what tools they use, how they see weather on their screens, how transponder codes work, and what services are […]
Senators oppose privatizing ATC
Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), as well as Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), recently sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation opposing privatizing the […]
Privatizing ATC: What could go wrong?
The airlines are terrible at running their businesses, so let’s turn air traffic control over to them, says Andrew Schmertz, the CEO of Hopscotch Air, and a contributor to the Huffington Post. “What could go wrong?” he asks with tongue in cheek in a recent post. He notes that the airlines have decades of losses […]
FAA, air traffic controllers reach tentative agreement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FAA and its largest union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO (NATCA), have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering the air traffic control specialists assigned to the terminal and en route options, traffic management coordinators/specialists, air traffic controllers assigned to the flight service option, and […]
FAA hiring: Fly the diversity-friendly skies
By WILLIAM HAMILTON Satire: Just as your aircraft reaches, say, 30,000 feet on your airline flight, say, from Denver to Chicago, the Captain says, “Hello. This is your Captain speaking. Welcome aboard Olympic Mountain General Airlines. Okay, I know some of you call us: OMG! But, seriously, passengers who studied urban sociology in college may […]
Union wants more controllers at Tacoma Narrows Airport
TACOMA, Wash. – The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization wants Serco, Inc., the British company that owns the air traffic control contract at Tacoma Narrow Airport (KTIW), to add staff. In a story in The (Tacoma) News Tribune, county officials report the airport is on pace to record 65,000 operations in 2015. That would represent a 68% […]
Inhofe, Manchin urge full funding of FAA contract towers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) today sent a letter to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) and the SAC’s Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) urging them to fully fund the FAA’s Contract Tower Program. In the letter, the Senators wrote: “As […]