PRIVATIZING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

The 1981 strike by members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers' Organization was not an isolated incident. It was merely the latest crisis in the troubled history of the U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system. A reading of the system's history reveals an ongoing pattern of technological lag, lack of cost-effectiveness, unresponsiveness to user needs, absence of long-range planning, political interference, and labor problems. Analysis of these problems suggests that they are not the fault of particular people, such as FAA administrators; nor are they the fault of the ATC system's congressional overseers per se. Rather, the cause of the problem is systemic, stemming from the way the ATC system has been organized and operated--as a government bureaucracy. Evidence at home and abroad suggests that there are alternative ways of providing ATC services. In several countries, ATC is provided by private, not-for-profit corporations that are funded by user fees. In other cases, the service is provided by a profit-making firm under contract. In this country, several profit-making firms operate airport control towers under contract, and a not-for-profit firm provides nationwide computer and communications services to airlines and other airspace users. The current ATC system could be replaced by a two-level system, which consists of a not-for-profit ATC system corporation that contracts out the operation of individual control centers to profit-making ATC operating companies. In this way there would be both (a) uniform nationwide operating procedures and (b) the benefits of competition in the provision of the services. There is good reason to expect a system so structured to be less subject to the problems inherent in today's ATC system.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1983/912/912-001.pdf
• Record URL:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Application of Economic Analysis to Transportation Problems. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Poole Jr, Robert W
• Conference:
  • 62nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1983-1-17 to 1983-1-21
• Publication Date: 1983

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 1-7
• Monograph Title: Economic analysis of transportation problems
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 912
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air traffic control; Competition; Nonprofit corporations; Operations; Private enterprise
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Aviation; Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00380799
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 309035554
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-036 478
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jan 30 1984 12:00AM