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.”
The secretary said he envisions constructing or rebuilding certain ATC facilities, including towers, centers, and terminal radar approach control facilities, better known as TRACONs. His plan calls for six new ATC centers, the biggest buildout of that kind since the 1960s, and 15 towers with colocated TRACONs. The timeline provided to the press anticipates completion by 2028.
The main focus, however, will be on replacing technology used by air traffic controllers, much of which dates to the 1970s and ‘80s, with state-of-the-art telecommunications systems, radios, surveillance technology, and automation programs.
“Everything that controls the airspace is going to be brand new,” Duffy said.
No More Floppy Disks
According to an outline released by the Transportation Department, the project will entail transitioning the FAA from its current time-division multiplexing system to Internet Protocol, abandoning archaic technology like floppy disks, replacing aging radios, and developing a common automation platform. The plan also calls for the adoption and integration of fiber cables, wireless devices, and satellite systems.
Duffy said that, in order to complete the overhaul in three to four years, the White House plans to ask Congress for “all the money up front,” though he did not say how much the project is expected to cost. He said he would go before Congress at regular intervals to keep legislators updated on progress.
‘Big, Beautiful Contract’
At one point during the press conference, Duffy called President Donald Trump, who spoke over the phone to the media for several minutes. The president said he would prefer if one company handled the contract for the modernization effort.
“We’d like to give out one big, beautiful contract where they’re in charge of everything,” Trump said. “We’re negotiating with the various companies now.”
The department assembled a slew of government officials and industry figures to endorse the project, including FAA acting administrator Chris Rocheleau, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, and the heads of American, Delta, Southwest, United, JetBlue, and Airbus’ American division. Several unions, including those representing air traffic controllers and pilots, also spoke out in favor of the plan.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), applauded Duffy for taking steps he said were long overdue.
“NATCA fully supports this effort,” Daniels said. “NATCA has advocated for the modernization of air traffic control systems and infrastructure for decades, and it is past time that it is addressed.”
A network of airlines, industry groups, manufacturers, unions, and others known as the Modern Skies Coalition also threw its weight behind the project. The coalition came together last month to support a separate proposal advanced by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to invest $12 billion in ATC upgrades.
Duffy’s plan to upgrade ATC infrastructure comes one week after he announced a package of incentives meant to reverse the chronic shortage of FAA air traffic controllers. The DOT has promised cash bonuses to trainees who complete the FAA’s ATC program and accept work assignments in regions that are hard to staff or have a high cost of living. The department will also pay bonuses to experienced air traffic controllers each year they continue working after becoming eligible for retirement at the 20-year mark.
Duffy estimates the FAA will have to add about 3,000 air traffic controllers to close its current gap.
Problems with the nation’s ATC system are in the spotlight as Newark continues to deal with flight delays and cancellations.
On April 28, the FAA facility overseeing Newark briefly lost contact with aircraft at and around the airport as a result of an equipment failure, grinding traffic to a halt. Newark is now operating on a reduced schedule out of caution, meaning many travelers are turning up only to have their flights pushed back by hours or sometimes cancelled outright.
The problem has been exacerbated by construction on one of the airport’s runways and a shortage of air traffic controllers. The facility that oversees Newark was already short-staffed before the loss-of-contact incident, but levels are even lower now that some controllers are out on trauma leave.
ATC staffing is also being looked at as a factor in the collision of an American Eagle flight with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., in January that left 67 people dead. According to a report from The New York Times, staffing levels at the FAA center overseeing Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), where the American Eagle flight was landing, were below normal.
Several near-misses between commercial aircraft and military helicopters around Reagan have come to light in the months since the accident.
