President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy promised to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control system on Thursday, a plan they said will involve modernizing communication systems and recruiting more air traffic controllers.
Duffy made the announcement at the Department of Transportation headquarters, where he had Trump call in over speakerphone.
“I’m thrilled to announce the complete rebuilding and modernization of America’s air traffic control system, and that’s ... what we’re doing, and we’re going to make it the best,” Trump said as Duffy held the phone to the microphones.
Duffy and Trump both acknowledged the family members of victims of the crash in January near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people. Several family members were in attendance.
“We’re beginning the process of fully replacing the technology at more than 4,600 air traffic control sites. That’s a lot. And building six new state-of-the-art air traffic control coordination centers, which is the top. That’s the tippy top of what you do,” Trump said, adding how overdue the country is for this change.
Duffy added that the plan will finally provide a long-term solution for the “decades of neglect” and “patchwork fixes” for air traffic controller technology. As a result, he said more people would be interested in applying for the position.
“If we give them the best equipment, we’re going to have more young men and women who want to sign up to be air traffic controllers,” Duffy said
Duffy added that he will ask Congress for the appropriations for the new equipment “upfront,” adding that that was the only way this would be accomplished in the next few years.
“We want to build this in three to four years, and we can do it with the help of Congress,” Duffy said.
Several members of Congress joined Duffy on stage, including Sens. Jerry Moran and Ted Cruz.
Cruz said that he would use his position as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee to ensure the department has “the resources needed to improve today’s infrastructure.”
Duffy praised Sen. Maria Cantwell for working with Cruz on the bipartisan effort.
“Congress has a lot of fights for money,” Duffy said. “This is one they should not fight over. This is one that is needful and one that matters.”
Duffy’s announcement to overhaul air traffic control follows several troubling incidents at multiple airports, including the crash in January.
That crash sparked increased scrutiny of flight safety, but several other incidents have also raised questions and criticisms about the infrastructure around flying.
Last week, air traffic controllers guiding flights in and out of the airspace near Newark Liberty International Airport lost communications and radar with aircraft for nearly 90 seconds. The incident led to more than 1,000 flight delays and staffing shortages. Several employees reportedly requested mental health leave following the incident.
This incident also came up throughout the conference.
“If we don’t actually accomplish the mission that we’re announcing today…you will see Newarks in other parts of the country, because it’s an aging system, and so we have to actually upgrade it,” Duffy said.
Last month, several lawmakers were on an American Airlines flight that clipped wings with another aircraft before leaving Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Duffy says his plan to upgrade the Federal Aviation Administration’s aging technology will cost tens of billions of dollars, and members of Congress would need to be willing to fund it.
Despite Republicans’ efforts to cut back on federal spending, there does appear to be some level of appetite for these changes: Several of the Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced legislation that would give the FAA $12.5 billion for some of the overhaul, including upgraded communications technology.
Ahead of the announcement, lawmakers on Capitol Hill reinforced a willingness to spend.
“I just think we want to make sure it’s the safest in the world,” Sen. Eric Schmitt told reporters ahead of the announcement. “I fly twice a week. Everybody has loved ones that fly, and the most important thing is, you want to know you’re going to be able to see your family when you land. And so I think that’s his focus, which is a good thing. I think we just want to have the best and the brightest.”
There’s still uncertainty about what caused recent incidents, including the fatal DCA crash, but they have resulted in increased awareness of the need for more air traffic controllers. The number of air traffic controllers, who require extensive specialized training to do their jobs, has been declining for years.
Duffy has proposed several ideas to increase the pool, including raising the retirement age to 56, which several lawmakers support.
Last Thursday, Duffy announced a plan to provide bonuses to FAA academy graduates and new hires who complete the preliminary qualification training, as well as to controllers who serve past the age of 56.
Sen. Tim Sheehy told NOTUS that he thought the air traffic controller staffing shortage could be fixed in part by making the pipeline for veterans to become controllers easier.
“The military has a lot of air traffic controllers that when they get out, they don’t stay controllers,” Sheehy said. “So we need to incentivize our veterans, as they get out of the service, stay in that industry, give them transition assistance so they can be civilian air traffic controllers when they get out, [and] transfer those qualifications over.”
Democrats have criticized Duffy for his proposals in light of the FAA laying off hundreds of employees in February.
“We have to increase resources for training and recruitment, and obviously the pay is part of it,” Sen. Brian Schatz told NOTUS. “But let’s be clear, DOGE and this administration tried to get people to quit and are now wondering why we’re short of air traffic controllers. The answer is, this is what they tried to do, and they achieved it.”
After the program, Duffy told reporters he does not have a bottom line figure on how much the upgrades would cost but said it would be more than $12 billion. He added that he would “leave it to Congress” on how it wants to fund the upgrades and did not say whether it would be included in the reconciliation bill Republicans are currently negotiating.
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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of Democrats present at the Thursday event. At least one Democratic member was in attendance. This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Torrence Banks is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.