So I watched a cable TV show about the movement to privatize the FRA and how some think it is likely to be voted on in the affirmative by Congress in the next few years, presumably to turn over ATC maintence and upkeep to the private company. Which got me to thinking, if they could do that to the FAA, would the FRA be next on the docket? Would it be possible to offload the FRA? Allegedly the privitized FAA would still retain 4 boardmembers rotated in and out from selected Airlines.
It is not the entire FAA they are talking about privatizing, it is the air traffic control services the FAA now has.
Entire federal administrations, by their nature, do not lend themselves to privatization, but some arms of them do. Privaizing ATC has been discussed ad-nauseum for many years. No changes have occurred yet. The FRA is not in danger.
Norm
Functions like air traffic control are not regulatory in nature, so privatizing the service they provide would not usually be a problem.
For the FRA regulatory oversight might well be an issue, and that's a major portion of what the agency does. One would wonder if {name a Class 1} would be an objective arbitor of the regulations.
If the FRA did the dispatching, then I could see them shedding the function. But they don't.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
I would think the issue of liability would preclude anyone from ever wanting to get into the air traffic controller business.
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Ah, you guys are right it is just ATC and also Airport management/operations privitization from city/county management. The rules making portion of the FAA is going to stay on the government side.
The FAA has looming changes in the next 10 to 20 years because the FAA and NASA keep stepping on each other's toes in certain areas. I'd put money on it being called the Federal Aerospace Administration by 2035.
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