Essay About Air Traffic Control And Key Airports Runway Capacity

The Air Traffic Control (atc) System in the United States Should Be Privatized
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THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE PRIVATIZED
PERSUASIVE ESSAY
TITLE: THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES
SHOULD BE PRIVATIZED
This paper is to persuade the reader as to the benefits of the privatization of air traffic
Control system within the United States. The debate over privatization of the air traffic
Control system has become a worldwide trend that has gained popularity over the years.
As many other proponents, I argue that the competition of the private sector would allow
companies to provide services more efficiently while reducing costs. However,
privatization will never erase the failures of the Federal Aviation Administration or
improve safety, increase capacity and reduce costs, as is evidenced by what is occurring
in many countries that now have privatized air traffic control systems. What is truly?
needed in a time of budget constraints and pressure for improved government operations
is a mixture of privatization and government controls operating as one eternity.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Abstract
Table of Contents
White House Policy
How to Commercialize ATC
Conclusion
Reference
WHITE HOUSE POLICY
A December 2000 White House paper on the privatization of air traffic control by
the then Clinton Administration argued that although the “Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) which oversees the largest, busiest and most complex aviation system in the world
with its staff of 49,000 controllers operate and maintain our nations air traffic system,
orchestrating the take-off, landing and routing of 93,000 aircraft a day.” NATCA
Homepage, 2002. That the FAA had too much on its plate with regulating aviation safety
and security, and the air traffic system itself. Thus concluding that our air transportation
system is not as efficient as it could be. “To the credit of the FAA, our nations safety
record for air travel is exceptional. You could fly commercially every day for 22,000
years and not lose your life in an accident. Between July 1997 and June 1999, not a
single life was lost in the crash of a scheduled U.S. airliner. Moreover, the U.S. has
achieved this safety record while experiencing the enormous growth in air travel. Since
1978, when airline deregulation ended the federal governments role in setting prices and
limiting capacity, daily departures have doubled, and the number of passengers has gone up
by 250 percent. In 2000 U.S. airlines transported 694 million passengers on 13 million
flights. Yet our air transportation system is not as efficient as it could be. The growing
volume of air traffic, is straining the limits of the FAAs air traffic infrastructure as well as
key airports runway capacity. According to the FAA, flight delays have increased by more
than 58 percent since 1995, cancellations by 68 percent, contributing to widespread
passenger frustration and anger. The Air Transport Association estimates the cost to
airlines and passengers at more than $5 billion per year. Moreover, delays are almost
certain to increase, primarily because of traffic growth. The FAA predicts a 60 percent
increase in the number of passengers and a doubling of cargo volume by 2010, resulting in
a 25 percent increase in aircraft operations.” NATCA Homepage, 2002
“The FAAs effort to modernize its air traffic system technology has not kept pace
with either the emergences of new hardware or the growing demand for air travel. Despite
significant improvements in recent years, some modernization projects are delayed and
over-budget. Moreover, in part because of federal budget regarding agency borrowing, the
FAA has not always had all of the funds needed for long-term capital investments and
research and development. If flight delays and out-of-date technology are the symptoms,
one of the key underlying problems is that the FAA is currently not structured to manage
the delivery of a high technology service such as air traffic. The air traffic system operates
24 hours a day, 365 days a year and an entire industry depends on the air traffic system for