Thirty six years ago, the phrase “air traffic control” aroused strong passions. The reason? In 1981, just after Ronald Reagan became president, thousands of air traffic controllers went on strike. But Reagan broke the unions in a move that became a powerful symbol of the new free-market, deregulated era.

The air traffic control issue could become symbolic again — with a 21st-century twist. This week, Donald Trump summoned business leaders to the White House, where he reiterated his pledge to create a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan to unleash economic growth. The US president seems to visualise this in terms of concrete; or, more accurately, bridges, roads and that (in) famous wall. But Gary Cohn, head of the Council of Economic Advisers, has a different spin: his first priority is to take the air traffic control system away from the Federal Aviation Administration and place it in a non-profit entity, funded by public and private finance.

The hope is that this will unleash investment, such as the adoption of GPS technology to replace the land-based system. “Air traffic control is probably the single most exciting thing we can do,” Mr Cohn declared, arguing that embracing GPS and digital technologies could slash US flight times so dramatically that “we will save over 25 per cent of the jet fuel in this country”.