Duffy Teases Major ATC Overhaul Announcement

Full-fledged plan could be rolled out as early as next week.

Ryan Ewing

Friday, May 02, 2025 at 02:00 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy [Courtesy: Department of Transportation]

Key Takeaways:

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an upcoming plan to build out a brand-new, overhauled air traffic control (ATC) infrastructure system in the U.S., with a formal announcement expected next week.
President Trump has strongly advocated for this overhaul, calling the current system "very obsolete" and linking its deficiencies to recent incidents, stating the U.S. is "25, 30 years behind the curve."
Separately, the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) revealed a plan to offer cash bonuses to ATCs who agree to work in hard-to-staff or high-cost-of-living regions to address personnel shortages.

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An announcement to “build out a brand-new air traffic control infrastructure system” is coming soon, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a press briefing on Thursday.

President Donald Trump and Duffy have been roadshowing a plan to completely overhaul the United States’ aging air traffic control system, which Trump called “very obsolete.” He continued to say that January’s deadly midair collision at Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) near Washington, D.C., “wouldn’t have happened if we had the right equipment.”