We all know that air traffic control in the United States is a mess. While part of the issue is the shortage of air traffic controllers, the bigger issue is that our air traffic control infrastructure is incredibly outdated, impacting operational reliability and safety.
So there’s an exciting update on that front, as the Trump administration has today announced plans to build what’s being referred to as a “brand new state-of-the-art air traffic control system.” The upgrades are significant, and the proposed timeline is impressively fast (or just plain unrealistically optimistic?).
In this post:
Proposal to fix air traffic control mess revealed
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has today unveiled a plan to build a new air traffic control system that “will be the envy of the world.” As it’s described, by replacing the current, antiquated system, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will enhance safety, reduce delays, and unlock the future of air travel.
The plan addresses critical safety needs, and we’ll see the FAA replace core infrastructure, including radar, software, hardware, and telecommunications networks, to manage modern travel, creating a system built for the future. The agency will also equip facilities with better technology to reduce outages, improve efficiency, and reinforce safety.
The plan is comprised of four infrastructure components — communications, surveillance, automation, and facilities. Critical actions include:
- Replacing antiquated telecommunications with new fiber, wireless and satellite technologies at over 4,600 sites, 25,000 new radios and 475 new voice switches
- Replacing 618 radars which have gone past their life cycle
- Addressing runway safety by increasing the number of airports with Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) to 200
- Building six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s and replacing towers and TRACONs
- Installing new modern hardware and software for all air traffic facilities to create a common platform system throughout towers, TRACONs and centers
- Addressing the challenges that face Alaska by adding 174 new weather stations
What’s interesting is that this plan calls for the modernization to happen over the next three years, progressively through 2028, so that’s a really fast timeline. Current estimates are that this will cost anywhere from $25 billion to $35 billion.
Here’s how the Transportation Secretary describes this:
“Under President Trump, America is building again. Today we are seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system. Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age. Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now. The unprecedented coalition of support we’ve assembled – from labor to industry – is indicative of just how important it is to this administration to get done what no one else could. The American people are counting on us, and we won’t let them down.”
You can watch the announcement below, with Secretary Duffy in person, and President Trump calling in (the whole thing is just bizarre — was holding a speakerphone to a microphone really the best option for something this important?).
The proposal provides some pictures of the shocking state of some of our air traffic control infrastructure.
This is a great first step, let’s get it done!
I’m delighted to see a proposal for modernizing air traffic control, and I’m very supportive of this, of course.
The exact changes that need to be made to modernize our air traffic control system are way beyond my area of expertise, so I don’t have an educated opinion on the extent to which the proposal would fix our issues. I of course defer to experts, and if this is the solution, I hope we see it. I’m also not sure if this would actually make the US system the “envy of the world,” or if it would just take it less embarrassingly bad.
If this solves our air traffic control woes, and if it can be completed by 2028 roughly within budget, then I’ll joyfully give the Trump administration a huge round of applause for finally ripping the band-aid off, and fixing our air traffic control issues.
Of course I think it’s worth acknowledging that this proposal is still at a very early stage, and it remains to be seen what actually comes of this. So while I appreciate the initiative being taken, I’ll reserve judgment and praise until we actually start to see changes being implemented. But hey, a plan — or even a concept of a plan — is more than we’ve seen up until this point.
This should be a bipartisan effort, as an improved air traffic control system is in everyone’s best interest.
Bottom line
President Trump and Transportation Secretary Duffy have unveiled a plan to modernize air traffic control in the country. This is the first comprehensive proposal we’ve seen in a long time to fix our air traffic control issues, and the goal is for these updates to be completed by 2028.
This is an excellent first step, so let’s see what comes of this! Proposing a plan is the easy part — actually executing on it is the part that matters, and I hope it happens.
What do you make of this proposal to modernize air traffic control?
They've only been promising this for twenty years and five presidencies.
But sure. It'll totally happen this time. And then he's gonna fix Social Security. And get smoke detectors to stop chirping. And make rain clouds that dispense Orange Crush.
In practical terms, pretty much anything can be accomplished on almost any timeline given enough money. They built a liberty ship in under 5 days in 1942, because the technology and infrastructure was in place to support that.
Is the technology and infrastructure prepared if congress writes the checks?
“The bearing of a child takes nine months, no matter how many women are assigned.” -Frederick Brooks
1.0 had four years from 2017-2021 to get this going. @dcarter references The Air Traffic Control Modernization Act that never was enacted. This is just another "concept of a plan".
The Republicans vetoed it
False. No one vetoed anything, it never made it to commitee and there was no vote.
Is Starlink any part of this???
How soon they forget....The Air Traffic Control Modernization Act (potentially referred to as a 2019 bill to upgrade air traffic control), was a bipartisan measure that aimed to overhaul the aging US air traffic control system. The House had passed its version of the bill, and the Senate was also working on their own version, but a final bill was not enacted. The bill focused on addressing shortages of air traffic controllers, increasing safety standards,...
How soon they forget....The Air Traffic Control Modernization Act (potentially referred to as a 2019 bill to upgrade air traffic control), was a bipartisan measure that aimed to overhaul the aging US air traffic control system. The House had passed its version of the bill, and the Senate was also working on their own version, but a final bill was not enacted. The bill focused on addressing shortages of air traffic controllers, increasing safety standards, and modernizing the system with new technologies and infrastructure. Guess which side shot it down....
Can’t help but wonder if Elon’s Starlink Aviation company will somehow magically win this huge contract.
In addition to an existing $40B contract to Verizon that will be reassigned to Elon for some contrived reason.
Can’t help but wonder if Elon’s Starlink Aviation company will somehow magically win this huge contract.
And we should all really believe what Trump says he will do because he never lies . . .
Every admin has failed to update Air Traffic Control since the 70s. There have been a lot of plans and lots of failures. What was the plan with Verizon under Biden. What was the plan under Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagon, Carter. It was getting old by Ford. Also, firing your technicians that supported the old equipment was not a smart move.
You are seriously giving dumbass Rs the credit for this?
I think View from the Wing has the better article on this.
orange man bad. this will never work. you will all become unalived if you let orange man do this. the old system worked fine. this is just a ploy for all his billionaire oligarch friends to embezzle money from the US government
As with anything else, the devil is in the details. You have to develop and implement the new system while at the same time keeping the old system up and running. Getting this done in three years is very wishful thinking. And I wouldn’t be so quick to get rid of the paper flight strips. They are cheap, easy, and remarkably efficient.
And then there is the "plan" for an alternative to Obamacare. It made a great headline during the campaign but we haven't heard jack about it since.
I hope this gets done but just stating what you want to do and having an actual realistic plan are two things. Its going to take 3 years just to come up with an implementation plan.
Having been involved in the acquisition of a major aerospace ground system, I can tell you that full operational capability will likely be in 10 years from program approval.
And?? Ok, so a politician bullshitted and declared an aggressive timeliness. Bombshell! Come on, every politician in every party does this equally... it's human nature. So what if it takes 25 years! Let's get started tonight, put our heads down, don't slow down... just keep throwing track out front. And eventually it can be accomplished just like every other improvement mankind has made throughout history. Aviation is NOT unique in this manner.
Let's see if Congress can manage to appropriate the necessary funds.
I'm really excited for this. We've neglected ATC for too long, and it's arguably one of the most important jobs out there. Modernization will help with hiring too.
The timeline is a little frustrating, but I'd rather them get it right and get everyone's input than move with haste.
It’s important to note that the previous administration and specifically previous transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg had this plan and idea already. But it was the GOP in Congress that blocked it.
So, sure, kudos to Duffy for the announcement today. But let’s see if they can be successful with the implementation. And shame on the GOP for delaying this important upgrade just to score political points.
Glad someone else made this point first. The TrumpGOP has specialized is preventing progress during the Biden era, then repackaging the best ideas as their own once their leader is back in the White House.
It's also pathetic how nearly every announcement from Trump officials must include at least one over the top fluffing of dear leader. What an insecure orange korkad apa we have in the White House.
We'll see if this really happens...
Glad someone else made this point first. The TrumpGOP has specialized is preventing progress during the Biden era, then repackaging the best ideas as their own once their leader is back in the White House.
It's also pathetic how nearly every announcement from Trump officials must include at least one over the top fluffing of dear leader. What an insecure orange korkad apa we have in the White House.
We'll see if this really happens on such an ambitious timeline. It's easy to fire out a press release. It's hard to get things done.
In Biden's first two years, the Dems held the House and Senate. He didn't need Republican votes and he could have added more funding in Build Back Better to ATC rather than to green projects. Some people, everything is always the President's fault.
Trump could have also done so during his first term.
@Brian W
You were saying?
https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-begins-investing-1b-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funding-air-traffic-control-system
How far Biden could go was limited to getting 60 votes in the Senate. Simply adding more funding wasn’t possible. They got some in the infrastructure bill but then had other priorities as well!
@ Debo -- I'm curious, did I miss that proposal at the time? Do you have a link, by chance? If so, I'd love to update the post to reflect that. Thanks!
@ Ben: check this out: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/37231-house-gop-spending-cuts-would-wreak-havoc-on-us-air-system-faa-says
https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/national-fact-sheet-house-republicans-proposals-jeopardize-transportation-safety-and
A lot of the discussion is buried in conversations around the 2023 budget. And with today’s announcement, old news is very hard to find by the search engines, but that gives a general idea.
Debo,
You mean the GOP congress that Biden had throughout the first two years of his term, right?
Yep. During which they successfully managed pandemic recovery and passed a slew of other bills, including the infrastructure act. (Which Trump couldn’t pass in his first term). Biden administration didn’t have a magic wand. They were limited to funding which could get 60 votes in the senate.
What was stopping the Dems from doing this when they had control of all legislative branches of Government from 2020 to 2022 ?
@Bbt
First, they had control from January 2021 through the end of 2022, and that "control" was tenuous since their majority required Harris as the tie-breaker in the Senate and required that all 50 Democrat senators voted the party line. In case you forgot, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin were notorious for opposing various Democrat legislation like removing the filibuster.
Second, there was kind of a big thing going on at the time like...
@Bbt
First, they had control from January 2021 through the end of 2022, and that "control" was tenuous since their majority required Harris as the tie-breaker in the Senate and required that all 50 Democrat senators voted the party line. In case you forgot, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin were notorious for opposing various Democrat legislation like removing the filibuster.
Second, there was kind of a big thing going on at the time like the recovery from a global pandemic, rebuilding crumbling interstate road infrastructure, and upgrading port infrastructure to handle skyrocketing container deliveries. Higher priorities than fixing Newark's ATC.
And back at you, what stopped Trump from doing this when he was President the first time?
THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!
"THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!"
Did he have a stroke or something?
If he's not being constantly praised by the cult, then he starts looking for people to blame/fire.
You know how the North Koreans thank Dear Leader for the sun coming out every morning? That's MAGA in six months.
They could not possibly have a workable plan to do this many new things in just a 3 year time frame. They are just going to ask Congress for a bunch of money and just as the money is sent they will be no closer to an actual plan. This is not a plan but a document explaining whats wrong with using a lot of old tech and systems. They will buy Wireless from Elon's...
They could not possibly have a workable plan to do this many new things in just a 3 year time frame. They are just going to ask Congress for a bunch of money and just as the money is sent they will be no closer to an actual plan. This is not a plan but a document explaining whats wrong with using a lot of old tech and systems. They will buy Wireless from Elon's StarLink when there are plentiful hard wired fiber optic connections nearby to their facilities.
I work in this space. You should not have covered this as a sensible rational proposal because its just propaganda for their own closed media system to repeat. It solves no problems and if actually implemented will probably lead to casualties and more downtime.
This ATC system is plagued by chronic lack of long term planning and the clear tell in their plans here is that it has to be done in 3 years. It literally can't be fixed that quick nor is the custom unique hardware and software they need going to be available in such short order.
Agreed -- @Ben, you're out of your league on this one.
Great, so let's do nothing. Let's not even attempt it. Good plan.
It would be really cool if every contract signed through this plan was awarded only after going through a transparent and fair procurement process to select the highest quality work at the best price.
It would really suck if any contracts signed through this plan are awarded through a procurement process tainted by conflicts of interest.
Based on the way this administration has conducted itself so far, I have a guess about which of the above is more likely.
Ironic that the plan is to complete everything just before the next Presidential election.
Especially when, if it was this easy and Trump's admin so competent, they could have done it during his first term. It's like everybody on the right just memory-holed that he's already been in office once, and his crowning achievements were two impeachments (and in fairness fast-tracking approvals for the COVID MRNA vaccines, but righties don't like that part so Trump never actually takes credit for it).
The one and ONLY government area I wish Elon was actually involved in.
Ask engineers, working for Elon's companies really sucks. His halo effect in business is pretty remarkable. A 21st Century PT Barnum.