A proposal to decouple the U.S. air traffic control system
from the Federal Aviation Administration suffered a setback as a Senate panel
excluded it from its FAA reauthorization bill.
The proposal, backed
by President Donald Trump earlier in June, would put ATC under the control
of a nonprofit corporation governed by a board that would include airline
representatives. The House version of FAA reauthorization that passed in
committee earlier in the week included the provision, but—as
was the case last year—it lacked sufficient support from the Senate
Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee.
"I am opposed to ATC privatization, no matter what form
it might take," Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat and ranking member on
the committee, said in testimony earlier in June. "We currently have the
safest air traffic control system in the world. Why risk that by handing the
whole thing over to an untested, unproven entity?"
Proponents say the move would speed ATC upgrades, including
the ongoing transition to the satellite-based Next Generation Air
Transportation System by relieving it from the control of the federal budget
cycle. Airlines largely have supported the idea.
Each version of reauthorization must now pass a full vote in
its respective chamber of Congress, after which legislators will hash out the
differences. The current FAA authorization expires Sept. 30, so time to build
support in the Senate is limited.
Both
versions did have some areas of concord, however. Each would make removing
already-boarded passengers from flights illegal, a response to the highly
publicized, aggressive removal of David Dao from a United flight earlier
this year. The House version also sets minimum standards for airplane seat
size, while the Senate version merely calls for a study on the issue.