FAA says it needs another $20B to modernize air-traffic control system
Federal Aviation Administration officials are warning lawmakers that the $12.5 billion Congress approved last year to begin modernizing the nation’s air traffic control system will not be enough to fix deep structural flaws embedded across U.S. aviation infrastructure.
Testifying before the House in mid-December, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency will need an additional $20 billion to fully rebuild systems he described as outdated, inefficient, and increasingly unsustainable.
“It’s one of the worst-kept secrets in government that the facilities the FAA operates in today are grossly archaic, obsolete, and relatively unsustainable,” Bedford told lawmakers. He noted that most of the roughly $4 billion Congress provides annually for modernization is spent maintaining legacy systems rather than replacing them outright. “Literally, we’re putting lipstick on a pig.”
Technology failures inside the FAA have dominated headlines over the past year, including reports that the agency still relies on floppy disks and decades-old software in some facilities. A September 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office found that more than 100 of the FAA’s 138 air traffic control systems were inadequate or unsustainable, with upgrades for many not expected to be completed for another decade or longer.
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