US: House chairman says Trump Favors Privatizing Air Traffic Control

A House committee chairman says President-elect Donald Trump likes the idea of spinning off air traffic control operations from the government and placing them under the control of a private, non-profit corporation chartered by Congress. Rep. Bill Shuster, head of the House transportation committee, told The AP that he spoke to Trump about the idea several times both before and during the presidential election. He said he believes the president-elect would be supportive, although details would have to be worked out. "I have spoken to him on a number of occasions and he generally likes the idea," Shuster said. "We do need to sit down and put meat on the bones ... I think in general he sees it as something that's positive and we need to work on it." The Republican lawmaker endorsed Trump early on and campaigned twice with him in his Pennsylvania congressional district. He also campaigned twice with VP-elect Mike Pence. Since the election, Shuster has met with Shirley Ybarra, a former Virginia transportation secretary who is working with the Trump transition team on transportation matters. Shuster and most of the airline industry have been pressing for air traffic control privatization. They say the FAA is moving too slowly to adopt new technology and that airlines haven't seen the benefits they expected from the agency's air traffic control modernization program, which has been in the works for more than a decade.<br/>