The United States will need around $50 billion for a comprehensive replacement of its outdated air traffic control system. This became clear after a nationwide grounding of departures triggered by a communications problem at regional flight control centers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the U.S. system is “extremely old” and relies on analog technology that had been overloaded by data. He described what happened as an emergency and called on Congress to provide urgent funding for the modernization.
The larger figure was cited by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. According to him, combining new technology with an old system led to overload and a communications failure. “The system needs a comprehensive modernization,” Mullin said, putting the necessary funds at $50 billion. He added that there was no indication the outage was linked to a cyberattack.
Thousands of flights were affected
The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted departures from all airports across the country because of a problem affecting the centers that manage flights between U.S. airports. Around 3,500 aircraft were in the air when the measure was introduced. After operations were gradually restored, that number fell below 400.
The grounding led to diverted aircraft, delays and canceled flights. International flights were considered separately, with some of them receiving clearance for departure. According to the Associated Press, around 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers were scheduled for the afternoon and evening.
$12.5 billion has already been approved
The U.S. government is working to upgrade the system after Congress approved $12.5 billion for that purpose in 2025. Some of the old copper cables are being replaced with fiber-optic lines, while airports’ radio systems are gradually being replaced.
Duffy said that an additional $30 billion would be needed to complete the modernization. This would bring the total cost of the upgrade to approximately $42.5 billion, while Mullin’s estimate for a complete replacement is around $50 billion. The difference shows that the project’s final cost has not yet been determined.
The transportation secretary did not rule out a repeat of a similar problem. “I don’t know whether this exact scenario will happen again,” Duffy said. He urged Congress to approve additional funding to replace the outdated infrastructure and reduce the risk of further failures.
Sources: apnews.com