National Consumers League questions lack of passenger input at House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee hearing on privatizing the airlines – National Consumers League
May 17, 2017
Media contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832
Washington, DC—Today, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Need to Reform FAA and Air Traffic Control to Build a 21st Century Aviation System for America,” to discuss the proposal to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system. No passengers have been invited to comment about their experiences, despite a recent spate of harrowing consumer rights abuses on the airlines. The flying public has invested billions through taxes and fees in the infrastructure that makes the airline business model possible. Unfortunately, the Committee will not hear from a single member of the most critical constituency—the public who pay for and are directly affected by the operation of air traffic control.
The following statement is attributable to National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg:
“Now more than ever—with public awareness about the callous treatment of the flying public at an all time high—omitting any discussion of passenger concerns seems particularly offensive. Consumer advocates have written about the dangers of putting air traffic control into the hands of an industry that has proven itself over and over to have little concern about consumer rights and protection and has shamelessly squeezed every ounce of profit out of the flying public. Why in the world would we put a critical public safety function, air traffic control, into the hands of such poor stewards of the public trust?”
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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
