US transportation secretary seeks $10B to modernize air traffic control

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he is seeking $10 billion from Congress to fund the next phase of a sweeping effort to modernize the country’s aging air traffic control system and curb widespread flight disruptions.

Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year to upgrade outdated technology and address staffing shortages at air traffic control towers. Duffy told Reuters that much of the additional funding would go toward developing new software aimed at making air travel more efficient.

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What they’re saying:

“The real magic truly is the software to ​manage the airspace,” he said.

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Dig deeper:

The FAA’s air traffic communications system has experienced multiple breakdowns, including major outages that disrupted flights at Newark airport last year. The earlier $12.5 billion funding followed years of complaints about congestion and delays driven largely by outdated technology and insufficient staffing at control towers.

In March, the FAA was forced twice to suspend all flights at the Washington, D.C.-area’s three major airports for more than an hour due to problems linked to aging systems.

Duffy is also seeking additional funding for tower upgrades and surface awareness technology. While he has previously indicated a need for $19 billion, he is currently asking Congress to approve $10 billion of that amount.

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Airlines frequently schedule more flights than the FAA system can handle, with Duffy noting that schedules can exceed capacity by as much as 50% within a 45-day window.

He said new software could help the FAA better manage traffic by redistributing flights to minimize delays. “This tool lets us see and then spread flights in a way that allows for way less disruption,” Duffy said. “We could fix this.”

A 2023 report found the FAA’s communications infrastructure has been outdated for years, with some systems no longer supported due to a lack of spare parts. Another report said 51 of the agency’s 138 telecom systems were considered unsustainable.

Speaking at an event Tuesday, Duffy said the FAA has already made progress, including replacing nearly half of its copper wiring, upgrading 270 radio sites, installing surface awareness systems at 54 airports, and introducing electronic flight strips at 17 control towers.

“Rebuilding the infrastructure of our aviation system is not too big for America. We can actually get this done,” Duffy said.

What’s next:

The FAA added that by the end of 2028, airports are expected to have 5,000 new high-speed network connections across fiber, satellite, and wireless systems, along with 27,000 new radios and 612 advanced radars.

The Source: Reuters contributed to this report. The information in this story comes primarily from statements and an interview given by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to Reuters. This story was reported from Los Angeles. 

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