Duffy Lays Out Sweeping ATC Modernization Plan

Project calls for the construction of six new centers and 15 towers.

Zach Vasile

Thursday, May 08, 2025 at 03:42 PM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

An air traffic control tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a comprehensive plan to completely overhaul the U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system, describing the current infrastructure and technology as "not worth saving."
The modernization project aims to replace outdated 1970s and '80s technology with state-of-the-art telecommunications, surveillance, and automation systems by 2028.
The plan also includes significant infrastructure development, with the construction or rebuilding of six new ATC centers and 15 towers with co-located TRACONs.
This initiative, supported by various government officials, airlines, and unions, is being pushed after recent disruptions at Newark Airport and is linked to ongoing efforts to address air traffic controller shortages.

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With Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) still recovering from a 90-second air traffic control blackout that left pilots in the dark, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy laid out plans to modernize the entire country’s ATC system and build new centers and towers.

“The system we have here is not worth saving,” Duffy said at a press conference Thursday. “I don’t need to preserve any of this, it’s too old. You have a 1960s Volkswagen Beetle you’re using for transportation. I don’t want to use the Beetle, I want a brand-new car. And that’s what we’re building, a brand new car.”