Support Builds For Overhauling The U.S. Air-Traffic Control System

Lawmakers have been trying to reform the Federal Aviation Administration and the country's air traffic control system since the 1980s. Now, a new move to privatize the United States' air-traffic control system is gaining momentum among some airlines, unions and lawmakers.

But the idea is controversial. While people can agree there's a problem with the current system, which is outmoded, costly and inefficient, not everyone agrees on a solution.

"The bottom line is that most people now agree that the FAA simply does not have enough money to continue to operate the current system, which is very safe," Wall Street Journal reporter Andy Pasztor told Here & Now's Meghna Chakrabarti.

The air-traffic control system is designed for a smaller volume of flight traffic and hasn't been able to modernize, Pasztor says, "so this may be a time where you could really have a significant chance of dramatically changing the way air traffic control is administered and modernized in the Unites States."