Modernization not privatization

Back then, we carried books with charts into the cockpit, GPS-based RNAV approaches were new, and iPads and electronic flight bag apps hadn’t even been invented. As pilots, we have benefited from enormous technological improvements that enhance our safety and make our flying more efficient. More than 20 years have passed since my company closed its doors and I left the airlines for general aviation, so it’s unsettling to think that some of the newer equipment air traffic controllers use today was installed when I was flying a Canadair CRJ–200 up and down the East Coast. Worse, other ATC equipment has been in use longer than I’ve been alive.

We have the busiest and most complex airspace in the world, and there’s no question that our air traffic system needs to be modernized. The good news is that we’re starting to see progress, but we have to remain on guard to make sure modernization isn’t conflated with privatization.

A year ago, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy laid out his vision for a brand-new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system—the most ambitious attempt at modernization yet. One year in, we see there are encouraging signs of progress. In July, Congress approved $12.5 billion toward this effort as a “down payment.” Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford have said it will require another $20 billion to finish the job. AOPA estimates it could be $30 billion or more.

In December, Duffy and Bedford announced Peraton as the “prime integrator”—the company that will lead this transformation. They also announced several improvements completed in 2025: converting one-third of the copper-wire infrastructure to fiber, satellite, and wireless; the deployment of surface awareness systems at 44 airports; and the introduction of electronic flight strips at 13 towers, including Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)—which has been at the center of aviation safety concerns since the tragic midair collision last January.

In February 2026, AOPA helped secure a provision in a government spending bill that prevents the use of any funds to “plan, design, or implement” privatizing the ATC system—which AOPA has consistently and strongly opposed. That success did not come overnight.

For more than a year before this modernization effort began, AOPA worked to unite the aviation industry in opposing ATC privatization. That laid the groundwork for the Modern Skies Coalition, a group of more than 50 aviation companies, airlines, and organizations that supports modernization without privatization. But there are still some who want to see the system privatized. They are quick to point out that many countries around the world have at least a partially privatized system. But most of those countries have a fraction of our air traffic. Some of the busier ones include Canada and the United Kingdom. In the U.K., GA pilots have access to far less airspace than they did prior to privatization, and in Canada, GA pilots face more fees than ever before. In both countries, rural communities and pilots have been negatively affected.

The privatization proponents have also argued that privatization would insulate air traffic controllers from missing paychecks, as they did during the 43-day federal shutdown. While that may be true, there are better ways to protect our controllers. Privatization would put our entire National Airspace System at risk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of flights sharply declined, reducing revenue generated, the U.K. and Canada stopped training new controllers and dismissed those in training. Nearly one-fifth of the Nav Canada workforce—including controllers—were laid off because of pandemic-driven revenue losses. Can you imagine if that had happened here? Our controller shortage would be far worse than anyone could imagine, crippling the aviation industry—not just here, but around the world.

Handing control to a private entity would replace our transparent framework with an entity whose motivations and deliberations would easily become opaque and often based on economic determinations. The result would be a system governed more by stakeholders with commercial power than by the broader users of the system. Privatization is not, and should never be, the path forward for our National Airspace System. We’re pleased that Congress, Secretary Duffy, and the entire industry agree on that.

Pilots from across the globe envy the access and freedom we have here. That freedom is no accident—it’s the result of hard work and constant vigilance. AOPA will continue to represent you in the halls of Congress, at FAA headquarters, and with lawmakers in cities and states across the country. We are not resting on our laurels. Our work is not done.

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Acting Co-President Katie Pribyl is an airline transport pilot and CFII who owns a 1956 Cessna 180 Skywagon and learned to fly in Montana while in high school.