Aviation groups seek to sway changes to FAA as airlines drop bid to privatise ATC

In a major policy shift, the US airline industry’s largest trade group and several allies are no longer pursuing privatising US air traffic control (ATC). But Airlines for America (A4A) and nearly two dozen other lobby groups are now advocating for a major overhaul of the Federal Aviation Administration and its ATC operation, urging leaders in Washington to finally address longstanding alleged problems. Some executives are also expressing optimism that the administration of President Donald Trump will throw weight behind such efforts. “The Trump administration has committed to investing deeply, in terms of improving the overall technologies that are used in the air traffic control systems, and modernisation [of] the skies,” Delta Air Lines CE Ed Bastian told CBS News on 19 February. “They have committed to hiring additional controllers and… safety investigators.”Just days ago, news broke that the FAA fired several hundred employees, part of a broader Trump administration shake-up in the name of efficiency and cost cutting. Critics allege the layoffs will sacrifice safety – an assertion rejected by Department of Transportation secretary Sean Duffy, who says no “critical safety personnel” were fired. “I’m not concerned about that at all,” Bastian says. “The cuts do not affect us at all.” With the Trump administration seemingly poised to further roil the FAA, Delta’s trade group A4A and some 25 other lobby organisations have joined forces, seeking a seat at the table. “We are aligned on not pursuing privatisation of US air traffic control services and believe it would be a distraction from these needed investments and reforms,” the groups write in a joint 19 February letter to lawmakers on the House and Senate transportation and appropriations committees.<br/>