Major U.S. airlines are pressing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to deliver immediate, visible progress in its $12.5 billion modernization of the nation’s aging air traffic control system, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Airlines for America (A4A) CEO Chris Sununu said it is “imperative” that the FAA achieve several “quick wins” to demonstrate tangible improvements for passengers and shippers. The trade group represents American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines.
Sununu urged the FAA to move swiftly on a range of actions, including implementing airspace modernization designs, acquiring new simulators to improve controller training, expanding telecommunications fiber, and purchasing updated radars and radios.
“These initial wins will create tangible benefits for the traveling and shipping public, help coordinate messaging on progress, and boost optimism on the prospects of moving the project to completion,” Sununu wrote.
Secretary Duffy has publicly stated that he wants travelers to begin seeing progress by next summer’s travel season. He is also asking Congress to allocate an additional $19 billion on top of the current $12.5 billion to complete the system-wide overhaul.
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Neither the Department of Transportation (USDOT) nor the FAA immediately commented on the letter.
Decades-old system facing mounting strain
The FAA’s air traffic control network — among the most complex in the world — has long struggled with outdated technology and staffing shortages. According to a government report last year, 51 of the agency’s 138 systems were deemed “unsustainable.” Duffy has previously acknowledged that FAA engineers have resorted to buying parts on eBay to keep some systems operational.
“The system’s weaknesses have been building for decades,” one aviation industry analyst noted, “but the pace of incidents in the past year has turned what was a management issue into a national priority.”
A string of near-misses, as well as a catastrophic January crash between a U.S. Army helicopter and a regional American Airlines jet that killed 67 people, have intensified public pressure for reform.
Training, staffing, and technology reforms
The letter from A4A called for the FAA to streamline controller training, cut down on the “washout rate” of new hires, and accelerate the removal of paper flight strips — still used in some control towers to track aircraft movements.
Sununu also urged faster deployment of remote tower technology in smaller airports, elimination of floppy disks still used in some systems, and rollout of cloud-based controller displays that could improve reliability and data sharing.
Reducing attrition among trainees “would increase the number of qualified controllers,” Sununu said, addressing one of the agency’s most persistent challenges.
The FAA currently faces a shortage of about 3,500 controllers, forcing many to work six-day weeks and mandatory overtime. The agency has struggled for over a decade to recruit and retain enough personnel to meet operational demands.
Last week, the USDOT conducted interviews with the two finalists to manage the multi-billion-dollar modernization project, signaling a push to accelerate leadership decisions after years of slow progress.
Reuters contributed to this report.
