Frank Lautenberg: “Privatizing the air traffic control system is a bad idea for many reasons. We should heed the lessons of other countries…”

“Privatizing the air traffic control system is a bad idea for many reasons. We should heed the lessons of other countries that tried this already: Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. All of these attempts resulted in failures. We should heed the lessons of the blackouts we experienced in the Northeast this summer that shut down six major airports. Our air traffic control system guided stranded flights safely to the ground. I do not think it can be any clearer that air traffic control is a vital Government safety and security function.”