FAA budgets $12.5 billion to upgrade air traffic control systems

FAA pledges billions to upgrade air traffic control systems

Six months after a deadly mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says $12.5 billion in funding has been secured to begin modernizing the nation?s aging and understaffed air traffic control system.

WASHINGTON - Six months after a deadly mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says $12.5 billion in funding has been secured to begin modernizing the nation’s aging and understaffed air traffic control system.

Air traffic upgrades

FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick says the first priorities include building a new telecommunications network and hiring more controllers. Duffy said some staff currently work six days a week, and outdated infrastructure, including copper transmission wires and radar systems, has contributed to recent safety concerns.

In May, a radar outage at Newark International left controllers without key data for 90 seconds. Last week, a Delta/SkyWest pilot had to make an aggressive maneuver to avoid an Air Force B-52 during an approved flyover. The FAA is investigating.

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Staffing and safety

The plan also includes streamlining the controller certification process and offering recruitment and retention bonuses, including 20% annual incentives for retirement-eligible staff who remain on the job.

Duffy called the initial $12.5 billion a down-payment. He says $31 billion is needed to fully implement the modernization plan.

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