Dept. of Transportation announces plans to build new air traffic control system after decades of problems

[question everything]

Washington, DC
—
The Department of Transportation will build a “brand new air traffic control system” by 2028, Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday.

“The FAA is going to undertake an initiative that has never been done before,” he said. “All new hardware, all new software is going to be built into this brand new air traffic control system.”

The unveiling of the three-year plan follows more than a week of meltdowns at Newark Liberty International Airport prompted by, what Duffy called, a “frightening” 30 to 90 second “blackout” of air traffic controllers’ screens and radios on April 28. At least five controllers took trauma leave as a result, CNN previously reported.

The new plan will replace “core” infrastructure, which includes radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks, including the copper wiring that failed, impacting flights at Newark. Duffy plans to ask Congress for “upfront appropriations” and pledged to “come before the Congress every quarter” with an update of what’s been built and how much has been spent.

(snip)

At the news conference Thursday, Nick Calio, head of Airlines for America, the lobbying group representing for US carriers, held up examples of the outdated technology controllers still use.

“I’ve been holding up floppy discs and paper strips for about nine years now,” Calio said. “Here they are. People can never believe this, but here’s the good news: what’s happening here today is going to put these things out of business for good.”

More..

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/08/us/faa-equipment-issues-safety-concerns

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I hope that Buttigieg will not be the scapegoat here

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Will they be DOGE programmers?

To me this smacks of opportunism. You don't decide to replace such complex infrastructure after a few weeks of planning. Must have been in the works for awhile, or they're making it up as they go along. He's a bit too enthusiastic.

[question everything]

2. The constant problems at Newark can do this

https://democraticunderground.com/10143456107

Newark air traffic control loses radar again Friday morning, FAA confirms

[Ocelot II]

3. In two weeks, like everything else.

The ATC system has needed upgrading for decades (at least since before the PATCO strike), but Congress wouldn't fund it. The reason there is even a semi-modern ATC system in the first place is because a couple of airplanes collided over the Grand Canyon in 1956, followed by more collisions and near-misses. This led to an investigation into the very primitive system in use at the time and the passing of the Federal Aviation Act, which gave the FAA jurisdiction over ATC. There have been a lot of technological advances since then but the US system is still way behind what's being done in the EU. They need money and people who know what they're doing. Money might be forthcoming but if the FAA is being run by morons and DOGE I don't expect much improvement.