Trump proposes plan to privatize air traffic control system.

Plan is part of Trump budget

WASHINGTON President Trump proposed Thursday to move air-traffic controllers out of the Federal Aviation Administration and to a private corporation, a top priority for most airlines while still contentious in Congress.

The main reason airlines, the controllers’ union and congressional advocates want the change is to avoid annual spending disputes and worker furloughs in recent years.

More stable funding is needed, according to the advocates, to spur the FAA’s multiyear modernization program called NextGen, which is upgrading ground-based radar to satellite-based GPS to track and guide planes.

Greater precision is expected to save fuel, make arrivals and departures more reliable and allow more planes to fly closer together as the number of travelers grows.

But skeptics of privatization contend that the FAA is making progress on NextGen, and that separating air-traffic control could complicate a system that is the safest in the world.

The proposal is part of Trump’s $1.2 trillion discretionary budget blueprint for the year starting Oct. 1. The Transportation Department proposes to start moving controllers “to an independent, non-governmental organization, making the system more efficient and innovative while maintaining safety.”

“This would benefit the flying public and taxpayers overall,” the budget states.

But the effect on government spending isn’t clear because the private corporation is expected to be funded by user fees corresponding to the federal taxes that airlines already pay the government.

Airlines have campaigned for the change for years to modernize the system faster.

“This is a bold step that will lead to the governance and funding reforms needed to move our air traffic control infrastructure into the 21st century,” said Nicholas Calio, CEO of Airlines for America, a trade group representing most of the large carriers.

Delta Air Lines has broken with most other carriers to oppose privatization.