U.S. aviation industry urges Congress to allocate another $20 billion to upgrade air traffic control system
The U.S. aviation industry on Wednesday urged Congress to allocate $20 billion to promote large-scale upgrades and renovations to update the U.S.'s aging air traffic control system and reduce systemic flight disruptions. An aviation alliance composed of airlines, aircraft manufacturers, airports, industry unions and other parties stated that the purposes of this US$20 billion fund include: replacing and refurbishing hundreds of old air traffic control facilities; equipping air traffic control personnel with cutting-edge advanced equipment; and developing a new generation of airspace traffic management systems to improve flight safety and reduce flight delays. Last year, the U.S. Congress allocated $12.5 billion to the project to eliminate old equipment and alleviate the shortage of air traffic control tower personnel. The additional funds applied for this time will be mainly invested in the development of new software systems to help significantly improve the efficiency of civil aviation operations. , the American Airlines Association, the U.S. Travel Association, the Civil Aviation Pilots Association and dozens of organizations wrote in a letter: "The aviation system is an important national asset, but now it is under increasing operating pressure." U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an interview in April that the U.S. Department of Transportation initially applied for approximately $19 billion in funding from Congress. Currently, he is applying for $10 billion for the next phase of the project, and hopes to implement the remaining funds later. Republican U.S. Senator Jerry Moran said on Wednesday that Congress is expected to provide additional funding for the project in an appropriations bill later this year. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic control communication system has experienced multiple failures one after another. Last year, Newark Airport suffered a widespread and severe system outage. The previously approved $12.5 billion in funding is to solve the problems of airport congestion and flight delays that have been criticized repeatedly for decades. This kind of chaos is largely caused by old equipment and insufficient air traffic control tower manpower. A 2023 report pointed out that the FAA's communication system has been aging for a long time, and many supporting systems can no longer even purchase spare parts. Another report found that 51 of the agency's 138 air traffic control communications systems are no longer functioning properly. The Federal Aviation Administration stated that it plans to lay 5,000 new high-speed network lines for major airports by the end of 2028, covering optical fiber, satellite and wireless communications; equipped with 27,000 new communication radios and 612 cutting-edge radar equipment.