US Air Traffic Control Breaks (again!)

It was a perfect storm so far as air traffic delays and glitches seemed to conspire to make sure that if you were flying somewhere Thursday on the US air route structure, you were either late or canceled. The FAA continues to remain a case study on how not to "upgrade" a computer system as was evidenced in, "FAA Cites Software Failure in U.S. Flight Disruptions." But in all fairness to the FAA the problem is not only theirs, but also (big surprise) caused by your friendly politician who uses air travel funding as another area to earmark pork and get their name plates on things, such as airports, control towers, and runways. The video below addresses that. I have long advocated privatizing the US air traffic control system. The US controllers unions of course are vehemently opposed. What I didn't know was that the Canadians have not only provided an example of how NOT to do health care "reform" but have provided an excellent example of what happens when you privatize air traffic control functions. It works in Canada, and if the video below is accurate, works well. At least, it would insure that headlines of delays and computer problems like we saw today in the US would not happen in Canada. One thing the video does not address is the on-going move toward Global Air Traffic Management (GATM). It provides a technological insertion into our existing ATC system. But if what we saw today is any indication. The US may not be ready for GATM any time soon, while the Canadians will do just fine. The reason? The system in Canada is in the private sector and flexible, while the system in the US is dependent on Congressional appropriations, egos, and pork.

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