Many federal agencies would see their funding cut under President Donald Trump’s recently released discretionary or “skinny” budget request—but not the FAA.
The White House’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget would boost FAA funding aimed at addressing critical air traffic controller (ATC) shortages and modernizing aging infrastructure, which Trump himself has described as “very obsolete.” It would set aside $13.8 billion for FAA operations—a $359 million increase over FY 2025—with an additional $824 million for long-overdue facility and radar upgrades.
According to the budget document, the funding “would support the Administration’s air traffic controller hiring surge and salary increases, which are critical to addressing the air traffic controller shortage, as well as FAA’s ongoing updates to its outdated telecommunications systems.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has repeatedly pledged to implement an “envy of the world” ATC system within the next three to four years, an effort that could be backed by a $15 billion support package from Congress. The Department of Transportation is expected to unveil its full ATC modernization plan in the coming days.
“We have to do this fast, which is why we need the partnership from the Congress to give us the money up front,” Duffy said in March.
The Problem
Former President Joe Biden and his administration spent billions upgrading airport infrastructure and technology. The FAA in September, meanwhile, said it exceeded its fiscal year 2024 controller hiring target. But still, shortages and outdated systems persist.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) estimates that 10,800 controllers staff U.S. airports and en route facilities, more than 3,000 short of FAA and union hiring targets. In February, for example, the FAA said the control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) had 25 certified professional controllers (CPCs), three shy of its goal. In January, a U.S. Army helicopter and commercial passenger jet fatally collided near KDCA, renewing the government’s focus on staffing.
Many towers face even more severe shortages, due in part to a hiring slowdown during the COVID pandemic.
“The solution to the ATC staffing crisis is a long-term commitment to hiring and training, and the retention of the experience of all the highly skilled, highly trained air traffic controllers,” NATCA told FLYING in February.
At the same time, FAA systems have received plenty of scrutiny.
“We use floppy disks. We use copper wires,” Duffy said Friday. “The system that we’re using is not effective to control the traffic that we have in the airspace today.”
Duffy and transportation officials have emphasized that flying remains the safest form of travel. But the transportation secretary has vowed to do away with floppy disks, replace copper wiring with “fiber, wireless, and satellite,” install new runway safety technology, and purchase new radar systems and control terminals.
“It’s our job to look and see that we have an aging infrastructure around air traffic control,” Duffy said during an April meeting at the White House. “And if we don’t build a brand-new system, there’s going to be failures and people will lose their lives.”
Making Progress
Significant steps have already been taken to address the controller shortage.
In March, the FAA announced that its “supercharged” hiring efforts had successfully trimmed five months from the traditional hiring pipeline. The agency qualified and referred more than 8,320 candidates to take the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) aptitude exam within four days of the application window closing on March 17. Of those candidates, nearly 200 passed the test and progressed into the formal hiring process.
The agency in March boosted starting salaries for academy trainees by 30 percent. More recently, it has turned to cash bonuses to attract new controllers. Working with NATCA, it agreed to award incentives for completing initial training, working at “hard-to-staff” facilities, and staying on after becoming eligible for retirement.
“If you’re looking for a great job paying you well over $100,000, air traffic control is a place we’re looking to hire as we go through this supercharge,” Duffy said. “The academy [in Oklahoma City] is about four months of training, and then you’re out in a tower making real money.”
The Trump administration is further considering increasing the ATC retirement age, which NATCA in February told FLYING is not an “effective solution” for addressing shortages. Still, the union worked with the FAA to create the new cash bonus incentives, and NATCA president Nick Daniels spoke alongside Duffy in a press conference last week.
“This is progress, but we know that staffing is one part of the bigger picture,” Daniels said. “Our air traffic control system also urgently needs technology upgrades and infrastructure improvements. These are long-standing challenges that we can no longer have delayed.”
Getting Up to Speed
Beyond staffing concerns, the budget proposal addresses the need to update the FAA’s aging infrastructure.
The Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) in March published a 17-page report urging the FAA to upgrade its systems. Per that document, the agency’s “reliance on a large percentage of aging and unsustainable or potentially unsustainable collection of ATC systems introduces risks to FAA’s ability to ensure the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic.”
The White House plan calls for a $5 billion investment in National Airspace System (NAS) modernization, including a $450 million down payment on a multiyear, multibillion-dollar radar replacement program. Included in the $5 billion are $1 billion in advanced appropriations for facility and radar upgrades secured by the Biden administration. That built on the administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which directed $25 billion over five years for airport and air traffic control improvements.
A separate budget reconciliation proposal from the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure would allocate even more resources—$15 billion—specifically for ATC system modernization. The plan calls for $4.7 billion for telecommunications infrastructure updates, $3 billion for radar systems replacements, and $2.64 billion for modernizing ATC towers and terminal radar approach control facilities. Another $2 billion would fund air route traffic control center upgrades.
If approved by Congress, the combination of increased operational funding and infrastructure investment could allow the FAA to address immediate staffing shortages and longer-term technological needs, according to the White House.
