National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Paul Rinaldi reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to a collaborative relationship with the FAA and modernization of the National Airspace System (NAS) during testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation on Thursday.

While Rinaldi emphasized the collaborative relationship, he stressed to the Subcommittee that facility realignments must be part of a comprehensive plan and must be accomplished with inclusion of the agency’s frontline workforce and without compromising safety and efficiency, reducing services, or increasing the cost of the NAS.

“It is NATCA’s position that realignments should be implemented only when the realignment has a clear objective, quantifiable efficiency gains, and a sound business case evaluating each proposal,” said Rinaldi. “While realignment may play a role in modernizing facilities with NextGen capabilities, realignments and automation upgrades are two separate issues. Automation systems can be housed in any type of building whether they have been realigned or not.”

Rinaldi continued, “NATCA is committed to collaboratively working with the FAA to ensure safety and efficiency of the NAS. We recognize the current FAA leadership has made a commitment to collaborative effort in the planning, development, and implementation of safety and technology programs, and NATCA has seen the FAA make progress in numerous areas, but there are specific items where NATCA recommends more movement.”

Read Rinaldi’s full written testimony on the subject of, “FAA’s Efforts to Reduce Costs and Ensure Safety and Efficiency Through Realignment and Consolidation.”