The administration revised its initial $30.1 billion upgrade plan to address decades-old equipment that currently relies on floppy disks and parts bought from online auction sites. Although lawmakers previously approved $12.5 billion over five years to hire air traffic controllers and update systems, transportation leadership insists an immediate complete overhaul is required. Homeland Security officials have confirmed that the recent communications failure was not the result of a cyberattack.
Key points
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed there was no evidence of a cyberat…: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed there was no evidence of a cyberattack behind the communications breakdown.
Recent infrastructure strain follows a deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washing…: Recent infrastructure strain follows a deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January 2025.
The administration is pressing the Republican-led Congress to approve the expanded modern…: The administration is pressing the Republican-led Congress to approve the expanded modernization funds before Democrats take control in January.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
The Trump administration has raised its demand for air traffic control funding to $50 billion after a communications failure triggered a nationwide ground stop in the United States on Friday, disrupting thousands of flights for several hours.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the incident exposed the urgent need to replace the country's ageing air traffic control infrastructure, calling on Congress to approve billions of dollars for a complete overhaul of the system.
"This is an emergency. What's more important than having an air traffic control system that actually works?" Duffy said on Friday.
The administration had initially sought $30.1 billion for upgrading the country's airports and air traffic control network. However, following the disruption, Duffy said he wanted $50 billion to complete the modernisation effort.
"What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system," he said, adding that the government needed new hardware, software and telecommunications infrastructure rather than temporary fixes.
What caused the nationwide flight disruption?The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop at around 4 pm EST on Friday after a communications problem affected…
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