The topic of air traffic control (ATC) privatization funded by user fees is once again circulating in the U.S. political arena, possibly spurred by a recent Reason Foundation Aviation Policy News article by Robert Poole, the organization’s director of transportation policy.

“Converting America’s air traffic control system into a user-funded system is a bipartisan issue,” Poole argued in his article. “Legislation to that effect was developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) during the Clinton administration as part of its reinventing government agenda. A detailed proposal to take the ATO [air traffic organization] out of DOT and convert it into a user-funded nonprofit corporation was supported by the Trump administration and was twice approved by the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee (in 2017 and 2018). Former T&I Committee Chair Bill Shuster recently wrote that it’s time to try again. That recent effort won the support of the airline industry, the air traffic controllers’ union, and the Business Roundtable. It was endorsed by the editorial pages of many of America’s largest newspapers.”

Amidst this discussion of the controversial proposal, however, a coalition of aviation and aerospace industry groups recently wrote a letter to President-elect Donald Trump offering to find common ground to help improve ATC equipment and operational efficiencies, as well as ensure predictable funding. The letter did not mention Poole's article or the words “ATC privatization.”

The industry coalition is asking the incoming Trump Administration “to work with industry to find a unified path forward to create efficiencies within the FAA that will ensure our nation’s aviation system remains the safest in the world for all users.

“The aviation industry—from commercial aviation to general aviation, manufacturing, labor, airports, advanced air mobility, and other emerging technologies—accounts for more than 5% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) generating over 10 million high-quality jobs. Our nation’s ATC system is a vital infrastructure asset, essential to safe air travel and to our nation’s economic growth and competitiveness.”

According to the letter, the coalition suggested that “industry, exclusive representatives of the FAA’s workforce, and Congress” work with the incoming Trump Administration “to support these needed improvements and efforts to ensure the FAA can more effectively utilize the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to upgrade and modernize FAA’s facilities and air traffic control equipment.

“Addressing these areas will cut costs, reduce inefficiencies, and strengthen American competitiveness and will also ensure the FAA continues to uphold the highest standards of safety for all who use our nation’s airspace. Our organizations believe the areas we have outlined will ensure the FAA is more capable and prepared to deliver economic growth, foster American innovation, adapt to challenges, and continue to manage the safest, largest, and most complex air traffic control system in the world. We stand ready to work with you and your administration.”