NBAA Tweets Against ATC Privatization

NBAA has launched a social media campaign to try to convince Congress to reject a proposal to privatize air traffic control in the U.S. The #NoPrivatizedATC Twitter campaign hopes to show legislators the widespread opposition to the notion of an air traffic organization run outside the government, possibly funded by user fees. It's being heavily promoted at NBAA's annual convention in Las Vegas. The privatization idea, being heavily promoted by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the transportation and infrastructure committee, would result in a not-for-profit company run by a board of directors made up of representatives of various groups with a stake in the continued operation of a safe and responsive air traffic system. NBAA thinks that's something that should remain with government and funded by fuel taxes.

So far hundreds of people have joined the Twitter campaign and NBAA is obviously hoping that delegates to the annual convention will pull out their phones and tablets and join in. About 25,000 people are expected to attend the three-day meeting at the Las Vegas Convention Center. NBAA's stance is that a government-run system with congressional oversight that is funded by fuel taxes is the best way to keep the system accountable. But other groups seem to be downplaying the user-fee aspect and point to the unstable government funding in recent years that has hurt modernization efforts and resulted in numerous "emergency" funding extensions.

An earlier version of our story said the privatization move was being promoted by Rep. Bill Nelson, not Rep. Bill Shuster. Our apologies for the error.