US House transportation chairman introduces ATC privatisation bill

US House Transportation chairman Bill Shuster introduced a new bill Wednesday that features a revised and supposedly friendlier approach to moving air traffic control out of the FAA and into a federally chartered, non-profit organisation. Shuster claimed newfound support from Rep. Sam Graves, one of the most prominent voices for general aviation (GA) interests in Congress. That support apparently comes after Shuster’s revised ATC-outsourcing effort now includes a user fee exemption for GA for airspace use, as well as a guaranteed seat on the board of directors at the proposed organisation. All of GA would continue to pay gas taxes according to committee staff. “This bill improves upon the bill we put forward in the last Congress,” Shuster said. “We gained support.” <br/>