President Donald Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao recently released plans for United States Air Traffic Control (ATC) reform; a move which was lauded by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA),
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and the Business Roundtable, an association of American chief executive officers.
The Administration’s plans include separating ATC from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and making it a non-profit, non-governmental entity.
The transition is meant to encourage innovation and give ATC access to capital markets. The transition would take three years, overseen by the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense. During this period, ATC assets currently owned by the FAA will be transferred to the new entity.
The new entity would be governed by a board of directors and would collect user fees to cover operations
“This reform will bring our aviation system into the 21st century,” Shuster said. “As Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I would never support a policy that would endanger the safety of our aviation system and passengers. The fact is this is a proven, good-government reform that has been successfully done around the world in over 60 other countries, and will improve our aviation system for all of its users and all of our communities – large and small.”