If you’re upset about the way the government runs air traffic control, perhaps consider the idea that government should not be running it at all.
Air traffic control is:
- not a public good. It is a club good and it can easily be funded through user fees by airlines, not taxation.
- not being modernized well by the government. The FAA’s NextGen program has been ongoing for almost 20 years and isn’t scheduled to be complete until 2030.
- already provided by a nongovernment nonprofit in Canada and has been since 1996. It doesn’t cost Canadian taxpayers a penny, and it has been better able to modernize technology at lower costs than the FAA.
U.S. policymakers have long been aware of the possibility of privatizing ATC, with proposals floating around since the ’80s. The best time to do it was years ago; the second-best time is now. Read my full article on this from 2023 here.
Oh yeah, and privatize the airports, too.