Prompted by a radar failure a week ago at Newark Liberty Airport, and a midair collision that killed 67 people in Washington D.C., the Trump administration announced an unprecedented program to rebuild the nation’s air traffic control system and recruit more air traffic controllers.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and every speaker at a Thursday afternoon announcement paid tribute family members of the crash victims killed in that mid-air collision of an American Airlines commuter jet and Army helicopter over Washington D.C. in January.
The harrowing 90-second blackout on April 28 of air traffic controller radar systems serving Newark Airport was also mentioned by officials, including President Donald Trump as a tipping point that led to the program.
“The air traffic control system is overdue for a remaking to a modern standard we see in other countries,” Trump said, addressing the event by phone. “A compete modernization will take place; we’ll go all brand new.”
Plans call for replacing decades technology at more than 4,600 air traffic control sites, building six new state of the art air traffic control coordination centers, purchasing 25,000 new radios, replacing old radar systems and installing 4,000 new high speed network connections, using fiber optic cables, satellites and wireless technology, Trump said.
“This is the first time there has been anything like this since the 1960’s,” the president said.
Other plans call for rebuilding 15 control towers and 15 Terminal Radar Approach Control centers, and installing ground sensor systems to alert ground traffic controllers of the location of aircraft on the ground to prevent near misses, Duffy said. He did not day what airports would see improvements.
“Everything else that controls air space will be new,” he said “Newark was an example of what happens when this old infrastructure goes down. If we don’t accomplish this mission today, we’ll see other Newarks.”
In addition to renewing all hardware and software, the program will provide technology to allow drones and other emerging aircraft types to share the nation’s airspace in the future.
The effort also includes actively recruiting new air traffic controllers and working with the controllers union to encourage controllers at the age 56 retirement age to stay on the job longer to alleviate staffing shortages.
Duffy set an ambitious goal to have the work done in 2028, which relies on congress appropriating the full cost up front. Past FAA improvement programs took 10 years, meaning the technology was obsolete when the work was completed, he said.
“Our air traffic infrastructure right now is too old and too expensive to maintain the way it is. We have the technology to do better, and we’ve secured the funding to make that happen,” said U.S. Rep Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist,. about $12 billion allocated last week “Now it’s about working with the FAA to make sure these improvements actually get put in place.”
Several New Jersey lawmakers and Gov. Phil Murphy wrote to Duffy after last weekend Newark Airport incident asking for air traffic control improvements.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wa., the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee pledged bipartisan support for the modernization program at the event.
“We don’t want the effort to span generations,” he said. “Democrats stand ready to improve the safety of U.S. aviation.”
A coalition of airlines, aircraft manufacturers, airport operators general aviation pilots and aviation unions was announced to support the modernization effort including the National Air Traffic Controller Association.
“What happened at Newark highlighted two things, the need to modernize equipment and air traffic controllers who do what they do best and save the day,” said Dean Iacopelli, NATCA chief of staff. “This initiative lays the foundation for a safer aviation system.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, who cited problems with air traffic controller shortages and antiquated technology in a memo announcing cutting 35 daily flights out of Newark was among six airline CEO’s on stage pledging their support.
“It’s a day I’ve been looking forward to for my entire career,” Kirby said. “We build backups to the backups. It’s disappointing it happened at Newark, but the backups kicked in.”
He was among many who praised air traffic controller for their critical work under substandard conditions. Duffy displayed a collection of old air traffic control equipment in use that he said looks like it came from a 1960’s Apollo lunar module.
“The system we have here is not worth saving, it’s too old,” Duffy said. “You’ve got a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle being used for transportation, I want to build a new car.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry