Trump administration unveils plan to overhaul air traffic control system after Newark airport outage
President Trump announced Thursday that his administration wants to replace the technology at thousands of air traffic control sites across the country and build six new coordination centers. Mr. Trump called into a news conference that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was holding to unveil the plan for a new air traffic control system.
“After decades of originally — and we’re taking about a long time ago — reliable service, air traffic control is long overdue for, not an overhaul really, for a remaking,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s got to be brought up to a modern standard.”
The president also said he was confident that the current system remains “extremely safe” ahead of the summer travel season.
Mr. Trump said his administration wanted to replace the technology at more than 4,600 air traffic control sites and build six new air traffic coordination centers. Officials said the plan also called for buying 25,000 new radios, replacing over 600 radars and installing 4,000 new high-speed network connections.
A coalition of aviation industry groups said in a statement that the plan required a minimum of $18.5 billion in emergency funding over three years. Duffy told reporters the final number would be up to Congress, which is currently controlled by Republicans.
“It’s going to be billions, lots of billions,” said Duffy, who was a congressman representing Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019.
Duffy also said the administration believes implementing the plan would take up to four years.
The proposals come months after January’s deadly midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial airliner over Washington, D.C., which is under investigation. Duffy was asked if the proposals could have prevented the collision.
“This is different,” Duffy said. “It could have had an impact in saving lives … We had 85 near-misses at DCA (Reagan National Airport), and I think all the airline CEOs would tell you, all of industry would tell you this was dangerous, and we should have seen that it was going to cost lives if we don’t stop cross-traffic in the D.C. area. Now it’s my job to say, what other risks do I see?”
The announcement comes as Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey continues to deal with disruptions following an outage last week. Air traffic controllers directing flights into Newark lost communications and their screens went blank for about 90 seconds on April 28.
“We don’t have a radar, so I don’t know where you are,” one controller was heard saying on a recorded transmission.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the outage lasted about 30 seconds, and it took another 30-60 seconds for planes to reappear on controllers’ screens.
Duffy spoke about the outage during Thursday’s event, saying that the main communication line went down and a backup line didn’t switch on. He said the incident was an example for why the system needs to be modernized.
“If we don’t actually accomplish the mission that we’re announcing today, you will see Newarks not just in Newark, you’ll see Newarks in other parts of the country because it’s an aging system,” Duffy said.
Several controllers went on trauma leave in the wake of the outage, which appears to at least in part be due to a fried copper wire. There have also been more than 4,000 delays and over 1,000 cancellations in and out of Newark.
In an interview before Duffy’s announcement, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told CBS News he fully supports upgrading the air traffic control system.
“I’m not saying that the working conditions are acceptable, and I think that the controllers do an amazing job in terms of managing,” Bastian said in an interview for “CBS Sunday Morning.”
Bastian said it’s safe to get on an airplane, but he also said the air traffic control system can’t operate in its current form for much longer.
“What we need is a significant investment by our government in air traffic control modernization, which I know this administration and I know the secretary of transportation is committed to delivering,” Bastian said.
contributed to this report.