CERTIFICATION OF AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEMS "ESSENTIAL TO SAFETY"

Details: Published: July 18, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC — Unless Congress amends Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation to ensure that all of the vital functions of the air traffic control system are shielded from privatization, the safety of the flying public is very much at risk, said Tom Brantley, president of the Professional Airways System Specialists (PASS).

Brantley’s warning came after Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) told the Senate in an Oct. 3 speech that he and other Democrats would fight to hold up FAA reauthorization unless the conference report included provisions from the original legislation that prohibited privatization of critical safety functions. Lautenberg was seeking to introduce a six-month extension of the current FAA reauthorization so that conferees could fix the bill.

In defining the critical safety functions that should be shielded from privatization, Lautenberg declared, “This system is made up of many important parts, including: the air traffic controllers themselves, the technicians who certify the equipment, and the flight service station controllers who communicate directly with the pilots.” While Senate voted overwhelmingly to include language prohibiting privatization of these functions, the conference committee, under pressure from the White House, ignored the will of the Congress in its report, he said.

In a letter to members of Congress, Brantley urged that they “reflect the will of the Congress and stand up for the safety of the entire system by insisting on language that rejects the privatizing of any of these crucial functions. Anything less could result in an unwise gamble with the safety of the flying public.”

In another stinging rebuke to the conference report, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told the Senate on Sept. 30 that the conferees had introduced other unacceptable language in rewriting the legislation, allowing foreign cabotage and limiting antiterrorism training available to flight attendants.

“I urge our colleagues to work with us to craft a revised FAA conference report that honors the overwhelming sentiment in Congress against privatization of air traffic control operation and maintenance, protects the U.S. aviation industry from unfair foreign competition, and ensures that the nation's flight attendants receive mandatory antiterrorism training,” Reid said.

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PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.