Sean Duffy previews plan for new air traffic control system
Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss safety concerns after an air traffic control employee said the level of stress in the job is ‘unsurmountable’ and his report on California’s proposed high-speed rail.
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Thanks to President Donald Trump, America is building again. And we’re building big, beautiful infrastructure beyond our roads and bridges for the planes of the 21st century. That starts with the One, Big, Beautiful Bill to launch construction of a brand-new air traffic control system.
I recently returned from representing the United States at the Paris Air Show. The largest aviation event in the world exhibited the latest technology transforming modern airspace. From unmanned drone deliveries to supersonic air travel, how we fly in the skies of the next century will go way beyond the first. An all-new air traffic control system is a prerequisite to ushering in the next generation of aviation.
While overseas, I learned France’s air traffic control systems recently underwent their very own modernization process, and they are seeing increases in airspace efficiency of over 34 percent. That means they can move more planes and more people than before with fewer obstacles. This also means the greatest nation in the world is getting outpaced by France – the same people who take most of the summer off for vacation. We can and must do better.
DUFFY URGES SENATE TO PASS BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’S $12.5B AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEM FIX
The last administration was consumed by an obsession with identity politics. They focused on changing terms such as “cockpit” and “airmen” instead of addressing multiple watchdog warnings about the vulnerabilities in our airspace. The last guys thought fixing air traffic was just too hard to do. As transportation secretary, I am focused on safety, innovation, and building big, beautiful things again. But we need passage of the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” to even get started.
Elvis and the Rolling Stones were still pumping out Billboard hits when our current air traffic control network was integrated. Floppy disks, copper wires, and rotary phones – this is the kind of outdated equipment our system relies on to manage aviation. It’s unacceptable, and it’s lead to years of glitches, delays, and cancellations in our air space.
To be clear, flying is safe. We have multiple redundancies in place, but the system is showing its age. The skies are now busier than ever, with drones, air taxis, and commercial spacecraft pushing the boundaries of aviation. The systems of the past can’t manage the flights of the future.
That’s why I recently rolled out a plan to build a brand-new envy-of-the-world air traffic control system. It’s time we retire our current equipment sourced from eBay and RadioShack to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Outages at Newark and the January disaster at DCA demonstrate why politicians can no longer procrastinate. These problems did not suddenly appear in six months, and we cannot wait another decade to address them.
The remarkable progress we’ve made at Newark is proof of what we can do. After short outages spooked fliers and delayed travelers, we reinforced air safety with fiber optics, replaced outdated copper connections, and expedited construction of a new runway.
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With $12.5 billion in funding from the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” we can start on major changes to our air traffic control system. We will need more money, but this critical funding is a start to cover state-of-the-art radar, fiber optic lines, and new radios – key pieces of equipment that should have been integrated years ago. It’s not the all-new system President Trump wants, and America deserves, but it’s an important down payment to get the job finished.
The bottom line is this: every day that goes by without funding is another day my department can’t get building. The choice before Congress is clear – pass the One, Big, Beautiful Bill and let our department get to work. A “no” vote leaves us with zero dollars to begin replacing our aging system.
No issue has ever united major American airlines more than the need to revolutionize air traffic control. In May, 10 airline executives penned a joint letter endorsing my plan to build an advanced new system.
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“Aviation remains the safest mode of transportation in the U.S.,” they wrote. “But for it to remain so, serious upgrades need to happen now.”
Their letter to Congress compliments the support of more than 50 aviation organizations joining the Modern Skies Coalition to back our initiative. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill delivers a $12.5 billion down payment on this critical project. I urge Congress to get this done without delay. Our ability to build a brand-new air traffic control system will define aviation for the next century and keep air travel safe for generations to come.
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