The 2003 Budget in Brief is, as the title implies, brief, but its complexity still leads the aviation alphabet groups to cherrypick for comment, while news media reveal their opinions through select editing. Few readers study the original text, yielding conclusions that range from focused to false.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Natca) was “angered and disappointed” at applying private-sector standards under the performance-based organization (PBO). President John Carr called the work of air traffic control “inherently governmental” and privatization “ludicrous,” with implications for safety as being “reckless.” He noted Nav Canada’s request for a 6-percent fee increase due to revenue shortfalls, and difficulties in the UK’s partly privatized system. Carr said that ATC performance in clearing the airspace on September 11 was proof of their seamless efforts, and balked at the idea of ATC as a franchise. “Look, this is not Burger King,” he said.
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