Stossel on Air Traffic Control

Every once in a while, a story about a government-run enterprise that ought to be private turns up baffling examples of obsolescence and inefficiency. John Stossel's recent column about air traffic control in the United States is the latest of these.

I had no idea that we're still tracking flights using pieces of paper and with data obtained from binoculars while the rest of the world has moved on to computer tracking and high-definition cameras:

Image by Willy Wo, via Unsplash, license.

[Canada] got rid of "flight control with paper strips" years ago. That's because Canada turned air traffic control over to a private company. They switched to an electronic system.

It's not just Canada that did it. Dozens of countries have privatized or partially privatized.

Computer screens have replaced not-always-clear windows in many air traffic control centers. Controllers don't use binoculars anymore because high-definition cameras let them see much more, especially at night.

A Government Accountability Office study found that in countries that privatized, there are fewer delays and costs are lower.

Stossel nicely explains why we have this state of affairs, even though the evidence -- from countries that have privatized air traffic control and the excellent safety record of commercial aviation -- screams that the profit motive is an excellent guardian of safety.

-- CAV