By David Shepardson
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Sept 28 (Reuters) – US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, major airlines, aviation unions and other groups on Monday urged Congress to quickly approve another $30 billion for air traffic control towers, software and digital upgrades as well as improvement of airport facilities.
Congress approved $12.5 billion over five years in June 2025 to upgrade the air traffic control system and boost hiring of controllers following longstanding complaints about airport congestion and flight delays and a string of recent technology problems. A mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January 2025 that killed 67 people also spurred calls for changes.
Duffy has upped his request for more funds for air traffic control reform, airports, and air traffic control towers. “We want to finish the job,” he said in a press conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Republican US Senator Eric Schmitt introduced the proposal for the $30 billion in funding sought by the Trump administration.
The request has taken on new urgency since a major telecommunications failure last week paralyzed traffic along the US East Coast for hours and disrupted thousands of flights.
About $10 billion of the funding being sought is earmarked for the replacement of aging air traffic control towers and another $10 billion is for telecom and other tech systems used by air traffic control.
That funding includes money to upgrade systems to address cybersecurity issues.
The airport funding is targeted at medium-sized airports and will cover the construction of terminals and expansion of capacity. The US Department of Transportation said upgrading those airports can relieve congestion at major airports.
About $7.2 billion of the funding being sought is to expand a new software-based system the Federal Aviation Administration began using last week that uses predictive analytics to improve how flights are managed.
The price tag for telecommunications upgrades has jumped by $4.75 billion to $5.91 billion, according to a report earlier this month by the US Government Accountability Office. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said outdated telecom copper wires should be completely replaced by September 2027.
Duffy acknowledged prior reform efforts had not succeeded.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao)
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