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More than four hours of flight delays across the U.S. on Friday led the Trump administration to push for a bigger budget to improve the country's outdated system for managing air traffic. Earlier on Friday, United States Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and the White House asked for $30.1 billion to improve U.S. airports and their air traffic control system.
Speaking on the matter, Sean Duffy said:
"This is an emergency. What's more important than having an air traffic control system that actually works?"
As reported by ABC News, Markwayne Mullin said the new technology that's been added to the FAA's air traffic control system had put too much pressure on its older equipment.
More on the story below.
Trump administration raises air traffic control funding request to $50 billion
Earlier on Friday, Duffy and the White House had requested $30.1 billion to repair and upgrade U.S. airports and improve the country's outdated air traffic control system. ABC News reported that flight operations across the US remained disrupted for more than four hours because of the FAA system failure. During this period, 827 flights had to change their routes, with 670 returning to their departure airports and 157 landing elsewhere.
Duffy, who serves in the administration of President Donald Trump, said the FAA first noticed problems with its radar and communication systems at 3:36 p.m. at air traffic control centers across the country. This affected the information they received from radar and their communication with pilots, leading to a nationwide ground stop. He added that more than 3,500 planes were in the air at the time, but pilots and air traffic controllers followed safety rules to bring them down safely.
After Friday's flight shutdown, Duffy asked for $50 billion, saying the old equipment could cause more problems if it was not replaced. In a letter sent to lawmakers, Sean Duffy and Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought said:
"This investment is critical to complete the modernization of our national airspace - delivering a resilient telecommunications backbone for air traffic controllers, modern hardware and software, state-of-the-art control towers, and world-class airport infrastructure."
Duffy and Vought said the FAA has already replaced 68% of its old copper cables with faster ones.
Sean Duffy said that Congress should approve the additional $30 billion requested by the Trump administration to complete the FAA's technology upgrade. He added that the agency's older systems have faced repeated problems, including outages in New York, and said the new technology would help prevent such disruptions in the future.
He added:
"The president asked for $30 billion. I want $50 billion. And by the way, if you look at how much money the congressmen...they waste a lot of money."
Duffy, who serves in the administration of President Trump, also said that the US needs to invest in better air traffic control systems, airport equipment, and communication technology. He pointed out that many airport control towers are nearly 100 years old and said some air traffic controllers also work in buildings with leaking roofs, broken elevators, and faulty air conditioning. He added that the country needs to upgrade its airports to avoid another shutdown that could leave thousands of passengers stranded without knowing when they can travel or where they will stay.
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