WASHINGTON — The U.S. air traffic system remains largely analog, and the Federal Aviation Administration plans a sweeping modernization to bring it into the digital age, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Tuesday at the Modern Skies Summit at the Department of Transportation.
Bedford called today’s traffic-management tools “glorified calculators,” and he and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy outlined the administration’s plan to build a Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS). They urged Congress to provide funding beyond the $12.5 billion approved last summer to start modernization, most of which will buy new equipment and add air traffic controllers.
Duffy said the department and FAA are already doing work but need additional money. “We are going to deliver this on time, on budget,” he said, stressing safety as the top priority even as the agency undertakes a major overhaul.
The effort aims to replace systems that rely on outdated radar, radio networks and, in some cases, paper, with modern technologies that use software to prevent conflicts, reduce delays and cut cancellations. That includes replacing copper wiring with fiber-optic cables and upgrading hundreds of radio and radar sites. The administration says the program covers roughly 10 million labor hours across 4,600 locations with 50 vendors, and it is on track to be completed by the end of President Trump’s term in 2028.
Officials described the current system as safe but inefficient and vulnerable to cascading failures, pointing to incidents such as repeated disconnects between planes and controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport last year as evidence that change is needed. Duffy confirmed the program may use artificial intelligence in some areas and said the DOT is in contact with three AI companies, without naming them.
If successful, Bedford said, the new system would reduce industry costs, lower block times and lessen fuel burn by minimizing time planes spend waiting on the ground or in holding patterns. “We will see block times go down,” he said, citing the potential to shorten transcontinental trips like New York to Los Angeles.
The plan would also ease routine burdens on controllers by having technology handle more routine tasks. National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels endorsed the idea, calling new tools a “force multiplier” that helps—not replaces—human controllers and lets them focus on critical decisions.
The FAA acknowledges it needs more controllers. The agency plans to hire thousands, but a Government Accountability Office report in January said FAA hiring and certification have not kept pace with air-travel growth.
Duffy and Bedford emphasized accountability, noting past multibillion-dollar modernization attempts and promising this effort will be delivered. They asked Congress to have confidence in DOT and the FAA as they move forward.
NPR’s Joel Rose contributed reporting.