NATCA Bookshelf

N A T C A I N W A S H I N G T O N 2 0 2 5 N i W To d a y 42 42 42 42 REFERENCES N A T C A I N W A S H I N G T O N 2 0 2 5 N i W To d a y 42 42 42 42 REFERENCES Issue NATCA's Position on Reforming the FAA's Structure NATCA is not advocating to change the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) governmental status or the Air Traffic Organization's (ATO) organizational or reporting structure. In February 2025, over thirty organizations in the aviation industry, including NATCA, sent a letter to congressional aviation oversight and appropriations leadership, stating, "We are aligned on not pursuing privatization of U.S. air traffic control services and believe it would be a distraction from these needed investments and reforms." Our Union has previously stated that any proposal that seeks to privatize or fundamentally change the FAA's or ATO's governmental status must adhere to NATCA's core principles before we would consider endorsing it. As background, in 2017 and 2018, NATCA supported one specific bill proposed by the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which we reviewed carefully to determine that it met all of NATCA's requirements. NATCA leadership had worked closely with the bill's sponsor to ensure that all our requirements were met before it was introduced. Although there is no proposal or bill to consider at this time, NATCA would meticulously review the details of any new proposal before taking a position. From NATCA's perspective, reforming the existing funding process for the FAA would yield a greater return. Funding reform would enable the FAA's operations budget to meet all of its current and future hiring and training needs and its facilities and equipment budget to maintain and modernize the system would be the most efficient solution to address the FAA's current issues.

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