Watch Live: Trump administration unveils plan to overhaul air traffic control system after Newark airport outage
President Trump announced Thursday that his administration plans to replace the technology at thousands of air traffic control sites across the country and build six new coordination centers. Mr. Trump called into a news conference that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was holding to unveil the plan for a new air traffic control system.
“After decades of originally — and we’re taking about a long time ago — reliable service, air traffic control is long overdue for, not an overhaul really, for a remaking,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s got to be brought up to a modern standard.”
The president also said he was confident that the current system remains “extremely safe” ahead of the summer travel season.
Mr. Trump said his administration was working to replace the technology at more than 4,600 air traffic control sites and build six new air traffic coordination centers. The president also said the government planned to buy 25,000 new radios, replace hundreds of radars and install 4,000 new high-speed network connections.
The announcement comes as the international airport in Newark, New Jersey, continues to deal with disruptions following an outage last week.
Air traffic controllers directing flights into Newark Liberty International Airport lost communications and their screens went blank for about 90 seconds on April 28.
“We don’t have a radar, so I don’t know where you are,” one controller was heard saying on a recorded transmission.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the outage lasted about 30 seconds, and it took another 30-60 seconds for planes to reappear on controllers’ screens.
Several controllers went on trauma leave in the wake of the outage, which appears to at least in part be due to a fried copper wire. There have also been more than 4,000 delays and over 1,000 cancellations in and out of Newark.
In an interview before Duffy’s announcement, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told CBS News he fully supports upgrading the air traffic control system.
“I’m not saying that the working conditions are acceptable, and I think that the controllers do an amazing job in terms of managing,” Bastian said in an interview for “CBS Sunday Morning.”
Bastian said it’s safe to get on an airplane, but he also said the air traffic control system can’t operate in its current form for much longer.
“What we need is a significant investment by our government in air traffic control modernization, which I know this administration and I know the secretary of transportation is committed to delivering,” Bastian said.