Your flight is delayed? Blame your government.
OK, it’s not always government’s fault. Sometimes it’s weather or mechanical problems. But often we suffer horrible flight delays because politicians won’t relinquish power.
In January, flights were grounded when the government’s “Notice to Air Missions” system broke down. That was just the latest incident.
America rightly prides itself on being on the cutting edge of innovation. But it’s the private sector that innovates. Government rarely does.
Asked if America’s air traffic control system is out of date, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg paused a long time before answering, “The system is continuously being upgraded.”
But the government’s been “upgrading” air traffic control for decades, promising to switch to a “NextGen” system that uses satellite navigation. But implementation keeps being postponed. Now the Federal Aviation Administration won’t even say when NextGen might be done.
Air traffic control is still a lot like it was in the 1960s. Controllers use paper strips to track flights. Instead of using computers, they move paper around manually.
“This is your government at work,” says Diana Furchtgott-Roth in my latest video. Furchtgott-Roth worked for the…
