Congress must 'modernize America's aging aviation system' with approval of $30B plan: White House

Congress approved $12.5 billion in 2025 to be used over the next five year to upgrade air traffic control and increase the number of hires as there have been complaints of too much air traffic congestion and other delays. The Department of Transportation engaged in a program to reach out to gamers who play aviation simulators to come aboard as air traffic controllers.

"This investment is critical to complete the modernization of our national airspace - delivering a resilient telecommunications backbone for air traffic controllers, modern hardware and software, state-of-the-art control towers, and world-class airport infrastructure," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Budget Director Russell Vought said in a statement about the proposal for increased funding.

Duffy said in a post: “It’s time to pass the Modern Skies Act.” Duffy told Politico that Trump has “been supportive” of the funding push.

“Secretary Duffy has been working tirelessly to modernize America’s aging aviation system and delivering at an unprecedented pace. More controllers and a modernized control system mean safer skies for the American people,” White House spokeperson Allison Schuster said.

The new funding seeks over $10.1 billion to further modernize air traffic control that includes $7.2 billion for a common centralized automation platform and $2 billion for cloud services, per Reuters.

Major airlines have supported the proposal, including American Airlines, Southwest, and Delta. $18 billion of the thirty total will go to replacing old terminals and other airport-related projects. In the letter to lawmakers, the officials said that the FAA has replaced 68 percent of copper communications infrastructure with more efficient fiber cables.

The proposal come just after the Democrats won the midterm elections earlier this month. The move from Duffy and Vought maybe to get the funding written into law before the Democrats take control in January.