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.”
Duffy added that an announcement on this overhaul will be coming in a matter of days. “Next week, we’re going to talk about the infrastructure on the airspace,” he said.
On Thursday, the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) detailed a plan to give cash bonuses to air traffic controllers (ATCs) for agreeing to work in hard-to-staff or high-cost-of-living regions.
“It is a thoughtful, concerted effort to go ‘how do you make up the gap?’” Duffy said. “And we can’t snap our fingers to make up the numbers, but I’m happy that, at this moment, this team has thought about solutions.”
Infrastructure Changes
During a cabinet meeting, Trump tossed around potential private contractors to overhaul the ATC network, including IBM and Raytheon. But it would be ideal to have a single contractor, he added.
“We’re going to have a broader press conference next week on what that plan looks like,” Duffy said Thursday. “… I mean, we’re 25, 30 years behind the curve on building a brand-new system.”
Duffy shared that he’s already laid out this plan to Trump: “I’ve had a conversation with the president. I’ve laid out our ideas for a brand-new air traffic control system.”
“Before [the] DCA [incident], he gave me this job,” he continued. “I’ve heard him for years talk about the problems within the American [ATC] system and how he wants to fix it and, again, keep it the best in the world.”
