EAA JOINS OTHER GA
GROUPS OPPOSED TO WHITE HOUSE ATC PRIVATIZATION PLAN
User fees a main funding pillar of
plan that is ‘solution in search of a problem’
EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH,
Wisconsin — (June 5, 2017) — The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) today
joined other general aviation groups in opposing the measures outlined by the
White House for reform of the nation’s air traffic control system, telling the
administration that dismantling the current system will devastate GA while not
accomplishing the desired goals of efficiency and technological improvements.
A letter
to President Trump opposing the “Principles for Reforming the U.S.
Air Traffic Control System” was signed by EAA and 15 other general aviation
organizations. The letter states the groups’ “very real and long-standing
concerns, which include but are not limited to user fees. These concerns are
based on our operating experiences in these foreign systems and impact they
have had on general aviation.”
The White House principles statement
supports removing air traffic operations from Federal Aviation Administration
control and giving them to a new, non-profit entity that would be exempt from
congressional oversight. In addition, the principles statement advocates for
ending fuel excise taxes and creates a system that would make it
self-sufficient through the collection of user fees to cover both the costs of
operation and recapitalization expenses. The statement also specifically bars
review or relief by Congress or the courts regarding any user fees that might
be imposed by the ATC corporation. EAA has long been opposed to user fees for
general aviation.
“The White House principles make a
gross misrepresentation that the air traffic control system is broken, but the
facts don’t support the claim,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO/Chairman. “This
proposal is a solution in search of a problem. EAA supports modernization of
the American airspace system, and progress is happening with the input of all
the system’s stakeholders. This new plan would do nothing to solve any current
technology or efficiency issues, while undermining the world’s most extensive
general aviation system and disrupting the world’s largest and safest air
traffic control system. It is a bad idea, and EAA will continue to state that
to those in aviation, Congress, and the public.”
The GA group letter notes that the
U.S. air traffic control system is the best in the world, moving more aircraft,
more safely and efficiently, than any other country. Working with Congress,
aviation stakeholders have been able to ensure that the ATC system operates for
the public benefit, providing access for all stakeholders to airports,
heliports and airspace, and encouraging competition and innovation. The letter
also asks for ample opportunity for all stakeholders and citizens to carefully
review, analyze and debate any proposed legislation changing the governance and
funding for air traffic control.
Many of the White House principles are
based on the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act that
was shelved by the full House of Representatives and never taken up in the
Senate last year. In April, EAA board member Joe Brown testified to the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee that privatizing air traffic control services was
“deeply troubling” and would not benefit the public.
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EAA
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