Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for a massive investment of billions of dollars in the country’s air traffic control system following a series of issues that have plagued it, most recently communication issues at the Newark, N.J., airport that stranded hundreds of flights.
Duffy said at a press conference Thursday that he will ask Congress to grant “upfront appropriations” for all the money needed to update technology and equipment, which he said will be an effort that could take three to four years.
He said the department will rebuild some air traffic control towers and other centers, but “everything else that controls the airspace is going to be brand new.”
He said this includes new telecommunications, radios for air traffic controllers to communicate with each other and airplanes, radar on the ground, and sensors for tarmacs. He said a new flight management system will also be created to improve efficiency in the airspace.
“In essence, all the front-facing equipment for controllers, all the back-end systems for controllers, all brand new,” Duffy said. “All new hardware, all new software, is going to be built into this brand-new air traffic control system.”
He said he can’t accomplish these goals on his own and will need help from Congress. He said he needs funding “up front” because politics and priorities can change over time when funding is only given in smaller, incremental amounts. A cost figure was not mentioned.
A release from the department states that the plan is made up of four infrastructure components: communications, surveillance, automation and facilities. The release also notes that some of the most critical actions that the plans call for include replacing “antiquated” telecommunications technology with new fiber, wireless and satellite technologies at more than 4,600 sites and replacing 618 radars that are past their life cycle.
Other actions include building six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s and installing new hardware and software at all air traffic facilities to ensure they have a common platform system.
Duffy said he would appear before Congress every quarter to give an update on the plan’s progress and how much money has been spent.
“They can pressure test what’s been done to do the oversight to make sure we’re doing this correctly,” he said.
But Duffy added that permitting reform is necessary to “clear the deck” and make sure regulations don’t block the proposal from going through. If regulations slow the project down to require 10 to 15 years for completion, then the technology installed will already be old by the time it’s finished, he said.
Duffy compared the current air traffic control system to a “flip phone” that can’t be built on and needs to be overhauled.
“If we build a new state-of-the-art system, which is what we want to do, then like your iPhone, you can actually get updates,” he said. “You can build on top of what we have in place. So as new technology becomes available, we can actually deploy it. And we’re going to build upon the safety, build on the technology, build on innovation that’s going to happen in this country to continue to make airspace safer and more efficient.”
The announcement comes after chaos disrupted normal operations at Newark Liberty International Airport. Air traffic controllers lost communication with planes at the airport for about 90 seconds last week, which led to hundreds of flights being delayed or canceled.
Air traffic controllers at a Philadelphia control center lost radar and communications with the flights, leaving the controllers unable to see, hear or speak to them. The situation escalated, and air traffic controllers took absences through the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.
The law allows federal workers to take time off if they are injured or experience trauma while working. Some air traffic controllers said they took time off to recover from the stress they experienced from the outages.
Duffy’s proposal also comes after a series of crashes or close calls that have taken place at airports, including the deadly crash at Reagan Washington National Airport in January that claimed 67 lives. The crash happened when a plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training flight.
Duffy was joined at the press conference by the CEOs of the five largest airlines and family members of the victims of the crash.
More recently, two commercial passenger jets landing at National Airport last week needed to shift course because of an Army helicopter taking a “scenic route” near the airport.
“This is bold. This is going to be challenging, but we absolutely can do it,” he said.
The proposal could face an uphill battle as it comes as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have been pushing for massive cuts to nondefense spending, outlined in the budget request the White House released last week. But President Trump called into Duffy’s conference and expressed support for the plan.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, was also present at the event Thursday and said he would work to give the department the resources it needs to accomplish the plan.
Updated at 3:28 p.m. EDT
