US: Trump takes aim at US air traffic control spending

US President Donald Trump lamented what he called an out-of-date US air traffic control system on Thursday, but also criticized current modernization efforts as the "wrong system" and too expensive. "I hear we're spending billions and billions of dollars, it's a system that's totally out of whack," Trump told a meeting of airline and US airport executives, referring to the air traffic control system. Those attending the White House meeting included the chief executives of United, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue. The Government Accountability Office said in a 2016 report that the United States "is generally considered to have the busiest, most complex and safest ATC system in the world." Air traffic is handled in the United States by the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency is spending billions to implement "NextGen," a system that would utilize satellites to monitor aircraft instead of radar and make other changes. The Transportation Department's inspector general said in a November report that the FAA has invested over $3b in NextGen programs since 2007, but has faced implementation challenges. "I hear the government contracted for a system, that's the wrong system," said Trump. "It's way over budget, it's way behind schedule and when it's complete it's not going to be a good system." The FAA did not immediately comment on his remarks. Trump also addressed U.S. carriers' concerns about trade agreements with foreign carriers. "I know you're under pressure from a lot of foreign elements and foreign carriers," said the Republican president, who has promised to renegotiate or scrap trade deals between the United States and other countries that he sees as unfair. But Trump said he wants to make sure foreign carriers also do well. "They come with big investments, in many cases those investments come from their governments, but they are still big investments," he said.<br/>