Air traffic control effort is power grab

After the Daily Herald published a prominently positioned op-ed column by an airline industry lobbyist in favor of privatizing air traffic control, it is necessary to set the record straight.

The most cited argument for privatization is delays. The idea that lack of modernization is the underlying cause for delays is totally erroneous. First, modernization is well in hand, on or ahead of schedule. Second, the root cause of delays is airport capacity - runways and terminals, and nothing other than increased airport capacity can fix delays and stay ahead of growing air travel demand. Finally, it needs to be recognized that the U.S. FAA-run air traffic control system is by far the best and safest in the world and we should leave it that way.

Privatization is nothing more than an attempted power and control grab by the airlines, despite the writer's assertion to the contrary.

Reinhard Metz

Wheaton