Overview
- Only $12.5 billion has been appropriated so far, which Duffy characterized as a down payment on the multi-year rebuild of the national air traffic control system.
- DOT and FAA officials said they are close to selecting a prime integrator to manage the project, though final contracting hinges on Congress providing the rest of the money.
- The administration’s plan calls for six new ATC centers and 15 towers with colocated TRACONs, with near-term focus on upgrading existing centers and core communications, surveillance, and automation systems.
- Officials highlighted aging infrastructure—such as equipment still reliant on floppy disks and paper strips—and cited brief Newark radar outages in spring 2025 to underscore the urgency.
- With funding restored after the recent shutdown, FAA leaders said staffing has stabilized and they expect smooth holiday operations, while commentary from Forbes renewed calls to remove ATC from day-to-day politics.