Grounded by Bureaucracy: Another Wake-Up Call to Privatize Air Traffic Control
31st October 2025
When air traffic control is held hostage by federal budget fights, American travelers lose.
The shutdown-induced mess at U.S. airports demonstrates yet another consequence of leaving our skies in the hands of a politically driven, budget-dependent, and inefficient government bureaucracy.
The most recent bout of massive flight delays and cancellations is the result of the government shutdown, which has caused an indefinite delay in the paychecks of government-employed air traffic controllers—prompting many of them to decide not to show up to work.
But even before that, America’s antiquated air traffic control systems were costing Americans thousands of years of lost time due to flight delays and cancellations. Those ordinary delays and cancellations amount to billions of dollars in costs annually.
On top of that, inefficiencies limit the supply of flights, resulting in higher overall prices. Meanwhile, failing U.S. air traffic control infrastructure is causing communication outages, risking passenger safety.
Socialism in action. Your entire life run by the DMV.