Regulations and Government
Natca miffed by FAA language
News that the FAA intends to declare ATC a “commercial activity” is not sitting well with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Natca), the uni

News that the FAA intends to declare ATC a “commercial activity” is not sitting well with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Natca), the union that represents the nation’s controllers and other FAA workers in the ATC system.

Natca said that under a 1998 law government agencies must declare their job functions to be either commercial or inherently governmental. Commercial activities are those subject to contracting out and privatization, while inherently governmental functions are those defined as “so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by federal employees.” According to Natca, the law cites control of space and navigation as criteria for declaring a function to be inherently governmental.