By The Epoch Times | Created at 2025-03-12 20:39:19 | Updated at 2025-03-13 02:00:41
5 hours ago
‘We’re gonna start the work of building a brand-new air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world,’ Duffy said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on March 11 that he would go to Congress to request funding for a complete overhaul and upgrade of the air traffic control system of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Duffy made the comments during a Tuesday press briefing on the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) preliminary investigation report into the Jan. 29 midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. He said America’s air traffic control is antiquated and relies on two- to three-decade-old technology.
“We’re using floppy disks in our system. We have headphone jacks that we’re plugging and unplugging. Think back to the 1980s, if you were even alive. That’s the system that we’re using for air traffic control,” Duffy said.
“It’s old, but it’s safe, but ... looking forward, we don’t want to lose lives because we have a break in the system, so it has to be upgraded, and it’s going to take money.”
Duffy said the Transportation Department and FAA have long promised upgrades that have stalled, but suggested a total upgrade could be done within four years to create a “brand-new air traffic control system, gold plated, envy of the world.”
He called for using fiber optic cables for data, wireless and satellite systems, and “state-of-the-art, brand-new radar.”
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The FAA will also begin using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to find other highly congested airspace nationwide, like Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, to isolate potential safety hazards and upgrade protocols to avoid any similar incidents moving forward.
Duffy also suggested giving air traffic controllers ground radar sensors so they can directly “see where airplanes are at and better control their movements.”
The secretary acknowledged how much these upgrades would cost during a time when the Trump administration is prioritizing cost-cutting and slashing funding across all federal agencies. Both efforts, however, can proceed in tandem, he said.
“We can go on a diet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t see points that need investment, and this is a place that we need investment,” Duffy said.
“I’m gonna share it with the Congress, get their feedback, let them put their fingerprints on it, but then I’m gonna come back, and I’m gonna ask the Congress for all the money upfront so we can expedite this process of building out this system.”
He said past efforts by Congress to fund these upgrades have failed, but an overhaul is necessary to honor the lives lost in America’s deadliest air crash in 20 years and to prevent other families from having to “go through the pain and anguish of losing a loved one like these families had to go through.”
That would require Congress to fund a full overhaul, not a “partial” upgrade, Duffy noted.
“We are going to give you a brand-new system, the best of the best state of the art,” he said. “I think the American people want it, and I think the Congress wants it, and I’m going to give them a plan that will show that we can do it.”
The Transportation Department will bring in new engineers and pursue contracts, including for fiber optic data cables, where the FAA is put at the front of the customer line with its chosen contractors so “they do our work first,” Duffy added.
He’s also consulting with Southwest Airlines, which recently completed a two-year upgrade of its systems to analyze what worked and what failed.
“The whole industry is cheering us on to make this happen,” he said. “This is a moment in time [where] we can ... fix a system that was broken and, again, do it quickly.”
Duffy added that the Transportation Department will unveil a full plan with “a price tag on it” within the next two weeks.
“We’re gonna start the work of building a brand-new air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.”
On Feb. 5, Duffy said that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would “plug in to help upgrade our aviation system” at the FAA’s air traffic control.
President Donald Trump also called on Congress to pass legislation overhauling air traffic control while speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Feb. 6. He said the midair tragedy can be “used for good.”
“We’re all going to sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers—brand-new, not pieced together, obsolete,” he said.
The Transportation Department said it would follow the NTSB’s recommendations on permanently restricting helicopter traffic near Reagan National Airport to prevent further incidents like the crash in late January.
“We’ve determined that the existing separation distances between helicopter traffic operating on Route 4 and aircraft landing on Runway 33 are insufficient and pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, said at a Tuesday news conference announcing the preliminary report.
Bill Pan contributed to this report.
