Certain top officials have recently revived the debate on privatizing the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system, following several incidents of equipment failure. Most recently, Newark Liberty International experienced disruptions on Mother’s Day due to an outage at its ATC facility, leading to a 45-minute ground stop and halting all aircraft to and from the airport. More than 250 flights were delayed, with around 80 cancellations. Three such incidents have occurred there in fewer than two weeks. Two days before, controllers at the Newark facility lost radio contact and radar for about 90 seconds. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the air traffic issues there won’t be fully fixed until summer. Meanwhile, the airport will have to cut down on flights. Privatization might have some benefits, but with an aging system and a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, is it the answer?
Airport Antiquity – Remember Floppy Disks?
The problems with the ATC system have been known for years. In September 2024, the Government Accountability Office released a statement saying the FAA needed to take urgent actions to modernize “aging systems.” In 2023, the “FAA determined that 51 of its 138 systems are unsustainable, citing outdated functionality, a lack of spare parts, and more.” It claimed some projects would take 10 to 13 years to complete.
During a press conference at the Department of Transportation headquarters, a few days before the Mother’s Day outages in Newark, Duffy announced plans to “build a brand-new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system” within four years. “Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age. Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also emphasized on May 8 the importance of modernizing the ATC system, saying some of its technology seemed as if “it was assembled at a Radio Shack 50 years ago.” That might not be an overstatement. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) told Fox News Digital last week that Anchorage’s FAA hub still uses “floppy disks and sticky notes.”
“[M]uch of the equipment you have to buy on eBay,” Duffy told CBS Mornings. “No one makes it anymore. That’s how old the system is that we fly on today.” But how long will it take to upgrade? The government isn’t exactly known for its speed, which is one reason why several people want to privatize the ATC.
Ryan Tseko, a former commercial and private airline pilot, told Fox News Digital, “I think 1,000% it should run as a private or a nonprofit. I mean, look, other models like even Canada, they’ve already done this. … I think efficiencies and innovations from the private side would be number one, a lot quicker and also a lot cheaper. The government just runs at the speed of a snail.”
Sullivan, who sits on the Senate Commerce Committee’s aviation subcommittee, expressed his doubts to Fox News Digital about the government letting go of the ATC: “You would have a company say, ‘Well, I really don’t need to cover those small Alaskan communities because I’m not going to make any money on it.’ So, I have a lot of skepticism on privatization.” That will likely be the most heard argument against the concept. Another concern is that, without government regulation, ATC will lose its nationwide uniformity and be more prone to accidents. But it’s not a new idea. Other countries have successfully privatized their ATC systems. Britain, France, Canada, and Germany have already moved their ATC systems to private or independent entities.
‘I Will Fix It!’
During his first term, Trump announced a plan to remove ATC responsibilities from the FAA and transfer them to a not-for-profit corporation, citing the need for modernization and improved efficiency. “Today, we’re proposing to take American air travel into the future, finally,” said Trump in June 2017, during a reception attended by airline industry officials and transportation secretaries. “This new entity will not need taxpayer money, which is very shocking when people hear that. They don’t hear that too often.”
Though the chief executive hasn’t publicly added to the privatization debate this time around, on May 8, he posted on Truth Social, “Air Traffic problems caused by the incompetent Biden Administration, as headed by, in this case, a total novice and political hack, Pete B. I WILL FIX IT!!!”
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), the top Republican on the aviation subcommittee and a member of the House Technology Committee, is already planning to bring in stakeholders by June “to see how best to implement Duffy’s air traffic control plan and the $12.5 billion reportedly being set aside for it,” explained Fox News. “I’m going to do a lot of listening,” said Nehls, “so we can make a very deliberate and informed decision on how we’re going to spend taxpayer money to modernize the system.”
Updating the system is one thing, fixing the lack of air traffic controllers is another. The nation reportedly needs to hire about 3,000 more. Training can take up to two years, and fewer than 10% of the applicants are accepted into the program. The day after the Mother’s Day outage, Newark had to delay several flights for up to seven hours because of a controller shortage. Part of the problem was that some air traffic controllers at the ATC facility were so upset last week when communications went down that they took “trauma leave,” which contributed to the latest staffing issues.
As far as the system goes, maybe the question shouldn’t be whether privatizing the ATC is the best way to improve it, but whether it is the best solution – right now – to make the outdated and dangerous equipment safe for flying. Other airports are nearly as bad as Newark, and, without timely intervention, more lives could be lost.
