Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

As the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee prepares to release its new comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill, the committee faces a public relations battle on one portion of that legislation: air traffic control reform. A recent CNBC-sponsored poll found that a little more than half of people surveyed think it is a "bad idea" to “shift control of the U.S. air traffic control system from the…FAA, to a private, non-profit entity that would be governed by representatives of the major U.S. airlines and others.”


Conducted by Hart Research Associates, the CNBC “All America Survey” questioned 800 people on a range of economic and government policies. Asked whether they favor public-private partnerships to expand or pay for highway, airport and other infrastructure projects, 53 percent of the respondents said they either strongly or somewhat favor.


But in the area of ATC reform, respondents were asked about the shift to a system in which “the FAA would have some oversight…but would no longer manage the air traffic control system.” Respondents were given the following choices: “This is a good idea because the system is out of date and cannot keep pace with the significant increases in air traffic. A non-governmental entity led by aviation experts could update the system with the most reliable technology faster and less expensively, making air travel more efficient and safer” or “This is a bad idea because it would give the airlines too much control over a public asset and will give them authority to impose taxes and fees on U.S. passengers. These corporations could cut corners that serve their own interests and make it less safe and more expensive for all to fly.”


Only 33 percent sided with “ good idea,” while 53 percent selected “bad idea.” Another 11 percent said they were not sure, while the remaining 3 percent said neither.


NBAA pointed to the survey as “a critical reminder” of the opposition to the proposal. “Clearly, voters have real and significant concerns about this concept, which would take aviation decision-making out of the hands of the elected officials who represent the public’s interest, and hand sweeping authority over to a group of private interests,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

CNBC Survey: Most People Against ATC Privatization

More than half of people surveyed called “a bad idea the prospect of “shift[ing] control of the U.S. air traffic control system from the …FAA, "

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