The Feb. 12 release of the Trump administration’s federal budget proposal for the US government’s 2019 fiscal year (FY19), which starts Oct. 1, 2018, will provide insight into how much of a priority spinning off US air traffic control (ATC) from FAA still is for President Donald Trump.

The administration used the FY18 budget proposal released last year to officially go on the record supporting an ATC reform plan that largely echoed the legislative efforts of Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), chairman of the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to create an independent, not-for-profit entity to manage and operate US ATC.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called separating ATC from FAA a “transformative undertaking” that would “create an innovative corporation that can more nimbly respond to the demand for air traffic services, all while reducing taxes and government spending.” It said FAA—without ATC—would be able to better focus on “important aviation safety regulatory activities.”

But despite Trump’s backing, Shuster’s ATC reform plan did not even come up for a vote in the full House last year and was ignored by the Senate. The legislative stall was fueled in part by fierce lobbying from National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), which characterized Shuster’s plan as “big airlines” attempting to “seize control” of US ATC.

FAA reauthorization is needed by March 31, and it is unclear whether Shuster, who has announced he is leaving Congress at the end of this year, is willing to make another push to spin off ATC.

Shuster, who has said he will spend his remaining time in Congress working on infrastructure legislation, has been notably quiet regarding ATC in recent weeks. FAA watchers will be waiting to see whether the Feb. 12 budget proposal provides clues to the administration’s current thinking on ATC in the aftermath of last year’s legislative failure.

If the Trump administration backs off in its support for ATC reform, or signals that spinning off ATC from FAA is no longer a high priority, then the upcoming FAA reauthorization debate will not likely include an ATC reform proposal, putting the issue off at least until next year.

Aaron Karp aaron.karp@informa.com