Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a massive overhaul of the United States’ antiquated air traffic control system to modernize operations and reduce delays and inefficiencies.
“This proposal seeks to transform the United States’ air traffic control system from its antiquated system to a modern system capable of meeting the demands of today and the future,” the overview shared with The Daily Signal says. “This proposal will build a new, state of the art, air traffic control system that will enhance the safety and efficiency of our national airspace.”
The Government Accountability Office had warned former President Joe Biden and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the failing air traffic control system. GAO published a report titled “Air Traffic Control: FAA Actions Are Urgently Needed to Modernize Aging Systems” on Sept. 24, 2024, yet the Biden administration did not act.
“Look at this report,” Duffy said on Fox News. “They knew the air traffic control system was strained and still did nothing!”
The nation’s 17 air traffic control systems range from two years old to 50 years old, Duffy said. The secretary is working with President Donald Trump to modernize the system.
Duffy is overhauling the air traffic control system’s telecommunications, surveillance systems, automation programs, and facilities. Travelers can expect the new system to be fully implemented by 2028.
The Transportation Department is fully replacing the existing communications network with 4,000 new high speed network connections on fiber, satellite, and wireless, and over 30,000 services.
By 2027, Duffy will replace existing air traffic control radios with around 25,000 new ones. He will also replace the small tower voice switch, which allows pilots to transmit voice messages by pressing and holding a button.
The Transportation Department is fully replacing cooperative and non-cooperative surveillance, moving from 12 configurations to two. More than 600 radars will be replaced.
By 2028, the Transportation Department will rearchitect the antiquated slow Traffic Flow Management System, a data exchange system for supporting the management and monitoring of national air traffic flow.
Between 2025 and 2028, Duffy will oversee the building of six new state-of-the-art air traffic control centers for the first time since 1960s, focusing on co-location hard-to-staff and needed facilities.
Alaska will get 50 new Automated Weather Observing System locations, 60 Visual Weather Observing System locations, and 64 sites weather cameras.
After radar data sent over lines from New York may have failed, causing ongoing cancellations and delays at the Newark Airport, Duffy announced plans to improve air traffic operations in the New York area.
“To have a better flow of air traffic into the most complex airspace, the FAA is looking to pilot best equipped best served to JFK and LGA, where starting in December 2025 to fly into these two airports between 3-8pm the aircraft must be equipped with [Multiple Airport Route Separation],” the description of the plan says.
