The Trump administration has proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of a U.S. air traffic control system that it said still relies on floppy disks and replacement parts found on eBay and has come under renewed scrutiny in the wake of recent deadly plane crashes and technical failures.
The plan calls for six new air traffic control centres, along with an array of technology and communications upgrades at all of the nation’s air traffic facilities over the next three or four years, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“We use radar from the 1970s,” said Duffy, who compared the proposal with upgrading from a flip phone to a smartphone. “This technology is 50 years old that our controllers use to scan the skies and keep airplanes separated from one another.”
How much it will all cost wasn’t immediately revealed. Duffy said he’ll work with Congress on the details. “It’s going to be billions, lots of billions,” he said.
The plan has an aggressive timeline, calling on everything to be finished by 2028 – although Duffy said it may take another year.
Demands to fix the aging system that handles more than 45,000 daily flights have increased since the midair collision in January between an Army helicopter and a commercial airliner that killed 67 people over Washington, D.C.
That crash – and a string of other crashes and mishaps – showed the immediate need for these upgrades, Duffy said.
The proposal sets out to add fiber, wireless or satellite technology at more than 4,600 locations, replace 618 radars and more than quadruple the number of airports with systems designed to reduce near misses on runways.
Six new air traffic control centres also would be built under the plan, and new hardware and software would be standardized across all air traffic facilities.
The newly revealed proposal appears to have wide support across the aviation and travel industries.
Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said, “For too long, outdated systems and underinvestment have slowed air travel and hampered growth. The investment in Chairman Graves’ reconciliation proposal would put us on a clear path toward a more reliable and resilient aviation system – one that can meet the demands of modern travellers and support the continued growth of the travel economy.”
One of the biggest challenges with a massive upgrade is that the FAA must keep the current system operating while developing a new system and then find a way to seamlessly switch over.
The shortage of controllers and technical breakdowns came to the forefront in the last two weeks when a radar system briefly failed at the Newark, New Jersey, airport, leading to a wave of flight cancellations and delays.
Without the planned upgrades, those breakdowns will be repeated around the nation, Duffy said. “(The recent delays and cancellations at) Newark has been a prime example of what happens when this old equipment goes down,” he said.
If this article was shared with you by a friend or colleague, you may enjoy receiving your own copy of Travel Industry Today with the latest travel news and reviews each weekday morning. It’s absolutely free – just CLICK HERE.