US Transportation Secretary urges Congress to approve $30 billion for aviation reforms

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, along with major airlines and other groups, is urging Congress to quickly approve an additional $30 billion for aviation infrastructure. The funds are intended for air traffic control towers, software and digital upgrades, as well as improvements to airport facilities.

Duffy stated that the administration will ask Congress for the $30 billion, emphasizing the need to address the country's changing needs at airports. Of the proposed funding, approximately $10 billion is earmarked for replacing aging air traffic control towers, another $10 billion for telecommunications and other air traffic control technology, and the remaining $10 billion for airport improvements. Some of this technology funding would support the expansion of the FAA’s new software-based flight management system.

This request follows Congress's approval last year of $12.5 billion over five years for air traffic control reforms. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford indicated that the first phase of the modernization program is estimated to cost $16 billion, with additional funding needed for completion. The agency plans to cover the gap between the approved amount and the phase-one estimate using its existing budget, and has also requested at least another $10 billion for a second phase of modernization. The new $30 billion request comes amid rising costs for certain program components, such as telecommunications upgrades, which are now projected to cost $5.91 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $4.75 billion. The request also follows a recent widespread telecommunications failure that disrupted thousands of flights.