Announcement of 'Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative' Scheduled For 1130 ET

Well... we had a feeling that it was coming sooner or later, but it now appears that 'sooner' is what we can now expect. President Trump, ignoring the advice of much of the aviation industry (except for the airlines interested in undertaking a power grab), has scheduled a Monday morning announcement in the East Room of the White House in order to publicize the 'Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative' that he plans to send to Congress.

Little is officially known about the specifics at this point, but a few claiming knowledge of the plan allege that it borrows heavily from Rep. Bill Shuster's unsuccessful 2016 efforts to privatize ATC -- an effort that came under extensive criticism from throughout the industry... The majority of support for this effort comes from some of the airlines and the A4A community... with which Shuster has some reported conflicts due to his personal relationship with Shelley Rubino, the VP for global government affairs at A4A. Shuster has been caught in a number of alleged falsehoods and evasive comments in regards to her ability to lobby on behalf of A4A and her access to Shuster and his responsibilities.  

The President's announcement will kick off a week in which the President will discuss plans for much of the nation's infrastructure -- including much of the country's transportation systems. 

Gary Cohn, the director of the president’s National Economic Council, paved the way for Monday's announcements explaining that, “Whether it be roads, rail, ports, airports, broadband — it effects you and we know many of these areas are falling behind, effecting economic growth in the United States...”

The aviation community has been fighting various aspects of ATC Privatization proposals for many years and appears ready to gear up and fight this effort aggressively... though pundits expect that, like much of the President's current agenda, this effort will face significant opposition from the hill.

ANN will report additional data when available.

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov