A coalition of aerospace manufacturers, trade associations, and labor unions focused on modernizing the nation’s airspace is throwing its support behind a transportation appropriations bill in Congress that would increase funding for the FAA and the air traffic control (ATC) system.
According to a summary released by the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026 would grow the FAA’s budget by $1.5 billion to around $22.2 billion. $10.3 billion would be used to fund ATC operations and hire about 2,500 controllers to replace the retiring workforce.
Approximately $4 billion has been set aside for FAA facilities and equipment, $823 million above fiscal year 2025 levels. That money would likely supplement the billions of dollars already allocated for facility upgrades and equipment replacements in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law in July.
Separately, the bill allocates $514 million to fully fund the Essential Air Service program; $4.5 billion for airport infrastructure projects; and $145 million for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The coalition said the bill supports its goals of improving safety and averting another federal government shutdown, which only months ago put the ATC system under considerable strain.
“As members of the Modern Skies Coalition, we urge the House and Senate to pass the FY 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill,” the group said in a statement released Thursday. “We appreciate and support the bicameral Appropriations Committees’ bipartisan leadership in ensuring increased investment in the Federal Aviation Administration’s critical safety and modernization mission and support a return to regular order that prevents another shutdown of the FAA, both now and in the future.”
The Modern Skies Coalition consists of manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing, and GE Aerospace; trade associations like Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association (IATA); nonprofit advocacy groups such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA); and labor unions, including the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Allied Pilots Association (APA), Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).
The group was organized around the need to hire more ATCs and upgrade FAA infrastructure and technology.
