‘Very Obsolete’: Trump Calls for Total Overhaul of ATC System

Administration says it will work with Congress to launch a full-scale replacement of the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure.

Zach Vasile

Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 05:53 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, speaks at a White House press briefing after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 by KDCA airport. [Shutterstock/Joshua Sukoff]

Key Takeaways:

President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will ask Congress to fund a complete replacement of the "obsolete" U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system.
The administration links the existing system's failures to the recent midair collision over the Potomac River that killed 67 people, stating a new system could prevent such tragedies.
While the administration seeks a full overhaul, Congress recently allocated $15 billion for specific ATC system upgrades, not a total rebuild.

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President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plan to ask Congress to fund a complete replacement of the United States’ air traffic control system.

At a meeting in the White House, Trump called many facets of the existing ATC system “very obsolete” and heaped blame on the administration of former President Joe Biden for, in his view, spending billions of dollars without making meaningful changes. Instead of “patching” things together, he said, the entire system will be overhauled and rebuilt.