SAFETY - NOT FOR
AUCTION For immediate release. Contact: Walter (Wally) Pike at 301-933-6228 August 19, 2002 The 2140 air traffic controllers of Flight Service Stations, represented by the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS), continue to play an integral role in National Security and aviation safety, both "inherently governmental" functions. The Federal Aviation Administration has mandated flight service controllers brief all pilots to be "cautiously alert" as the "US Government continues to receive indications that extremist individual are planning additional terrorist operation...possibly using civil or general aviation aircraft." The notice also advises pilots to be on a "continuous alert for suspicious persons and activities..." This however is nothing new for the controllers of Flight Service Stations as they served as the main liaison between the federal government and the flying public, interpreting and relaying the ever constant changes to the National Airspace System in the aftermath of September 11. This resulted in three times the normal traffic volume. Despite this effort, in a surprise move the FAA has commissioned a study to privatize such operations. Wally Pike, President of NAATS, feels "In a time of war, the highest trained professionals need to be ensuring safety and National Security issues, not the lowest bidder. A contributing factor to the events on September 11th was that baggage and passenger screening, was conducted by the lowest bidder, not by the most qualified individuals. I am calling on President Bush to rescind his determination that air traffic is not an "inherently governmental function." If the President chooses not to act, then Congress should pass a law mandating all air traffic control be deemed an 'inherently governmental function' for National Security, and the protection of the American flying public. One only has to look to Canada and Switzerland to see the failures that have resulted from privatizing air traffic control." # # # NAATS represents those controllers working in the Flight Service Stations of the FAA, providing critical weather interpretation and aeronautical information to pilots, assisting pilots in distress, relaying control instructions, and assisting in flight planning. For more information, please visit the NAATS website at www.naats.org |