Reason Foundation is a nonprofit public-policy think tank founded in 1978, best known for promoting libertarian ideas such as free markets, individual liberty, and limited government.
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2026-08-25
US Air Traffic Control: An Outdated Model?with Marc Scribner
The Powering America Podcast features Marc Scribner, a Senior Transportation Policy Analyst at Reason Foundation, discussing the challenges of the U.S. air traffic control system. Scribner highlights deficiencies in the current model, which has not evolved since the 1950s, and contrasts it with Canada's successful separation of air traffic control from safety regulation through Nav Canada. He emphasizes the need for modernization and efficiency in U.S. air traffic management, noting that many countries have adopted more effective models.
Notable quotes
“The current US model that is breaking down, that was initially the global model.”
“The central purpose of air traffic control is to ensure safe separation between aircraft so they don't crash into one another.”
“The United States, for all its faults, is a very safe system, but where we are really falling behind is on the efficiency side of things.”
“Nav Canada doesn't depend on annual appropriations from legislators. It charges cost-based user fees to the aircraft that use the system.”
“The proof is in the pudding. What we've observed from Nav Canada, we've seen not only the maintenance of their high safety record, we've seen improvements in safety.”
“The basic idea to separate the provision of air traffic control from its regulation is now the most common model that we see around the world.”