Aviation disgrace

Thursday, May 1, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

The Senate this week is debating the future of America’s air traffic control system, which Sen. Jay Rockefeller calls “a national embarrassment.”

The House passed a bill last year, and the Senate is now crafting its version that would bolster aviation safety measures and overhaul the FAA’s tracking system. The Senate’s plan would likely boost the tax on jet fuel used in private planes to pay for the upgrades.

The White House, however, has objected to congressional plans that deviate from the Bush administration’s proposal to rework the aviation system, and there is talk of a veto of any bill coming out of Congress that does not toe the administration’s line. That would be ridiculous.

The air traffic control system needs a massive upgrade now.

Rockefeller, D-W. Va., said the technology currently used “is a relic of the 1950s,” and he said GPS systems “in cars or cell phones are more sophisticated than the hardware used in passenger and cargo planes.”

Among measures under consideration in the bill are a new Global Positioning System for the FAA to track the exact location of airplanes. That would help improve aviation safety and ease congestion in the skies.

Rockefeller cited predictions of massive delays in air travel over the next decade if major changes are not made to the air traffic control system.

This is an issue that affects not just passenger waits but also aviation safety. Congress cannot allow necessary improvements to be held hostage to the president’s political whims.