White House overhaul of troubled US air traffic control system will cost 'lots of billions'

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of a U.S. air traffic control system that it said still relies on floppy disks and replacement parts found on eBay and has come under renewed scrutiny in the wake of recent deadly plane crashes and technical failures.

The plan calls for six new air traffic control centers, along with an array of technology and communications upgrades at all of the nation’s air traffic facilities over the next three or four years, said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

“We use radar from the 1970s,” said Duffy, who compared the proposal with upgrading from a flip phone to a smartphone. “This technology is 50 years old that our controllers use to scan the skies and keep airplanes separated from one another.”

How much it will all cost wasn’t immediately revealed. Duffy said he'll work with Congress on the details.

“It’s going to be billions, lots of billions,” he said.

The plan has an aggressive timeline, calling on everything to be finished by 2028 — although Duffy said it may take another year.

Demands to fix the aging system that handles more than 45,000 daily flights have increased since the midair collision in January between an Army helicopter and a commercial airliner that killed 67 people over Washington, D.C.

That crash — and a string of other crashes and mishaps — showed the immediate need for these upgrades, Duffy said in front of airline officials, union leaders and family members of those who died in the crash near Reagan National Airport.

The proposal sets out to add fiber, wireless or satellite technology at more than 4,600 locations, replace 618 radars and more than quadruple the number of airports with systems designed to reduce near misses on runways.

Six new air traffic control centers also would be built under the plan, and new hardware and software would be standardized across all air traffic facilities.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week budgeted $12.5 billion to overhaul the system, but that estimate came out before the Transportation Department revealed its plan. Duffy said the final price tag will be higher.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, who heads the House transportation committee, called the amount only a “down payment.”

To build the system quickly, as planned, Duffy said Congress must give the Federal Aviation Administration all the money up front and streamline the permitting process.

“The system we have here? It’s not worth saving. I don’t need to preserve any of this. It’s too old,” Duffy said.

Trump said Thursday that the plan will revolutionize flying. “The new equipment is unbelievable what it does,” he said from the Oval Office. He began to say it may even alleviate the need for pilots before adding, “In my opinion, you always need pilots. But you wouldn’t even have to have pilots.”

The newly revealed proposal appears to have wide support across the aviation industry — from airline CEOs to the unions representing controllers and pilots — but this is just the beginning and many details haven’t been revealed.

Duffy quickly said the plan will not involve privatizing the air traffic control system, as Trump had supported in his first term.

Following the midair crash near Washington, Trump promised to fix what he called “an old, broken system” and to tackle the nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers while blaming the previous Biden administration for both problems.

But the weaknesses within the air traffic control system have been highlighted for years in hearings before Congress and government reports. The struggles to keep up with increasing air traffic has been recognized since the 1990s — long before either Trump or Biden took office.

The Trump administration’s overhaul plan will need enough funding to be more effective than previous reform efforts during the last three decades. Already more than $14 billion has been invested in upgrades since 2003 but none have dramatically changed how the system works.

The FAA has been working since the mid-2000s to make upgrades through its NextGen program.

One of the biggest challenges with a massive upgrade is that the FAA must keep the current system operating while developing a new system and then find a way to seamlessly switch over. That’s partly why the agency has pursued more gradual improvements in the past.

The shortage of controllers and technical breakdowns came to the forefront in the last two weeks when a radar system briefly failed at the Newark, New Jersey, airport, leading to a wave of flight cancellations and delays.

Without the planned upgrades, those breakdowns will be repeated around the nation, Duffy said. “Newark has been a prime example of what happens when this old equipment goes down,” he said.

Associated Press reporter Will Weissert in Washington contributed.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby speaks about a new air traffic control infrastructure plan, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announces a new air traffic control infrastructure plan, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announces a new air traffic control infrastructure plan, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announces a new air traffic control infrastructure plan, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks at an event for Military Mothers, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks with reporters after announcing a trade deal with United Kingdom in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to the media at the White House, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Pontus Holmberg scored with 7.3 seconds left in the first period to put Tampa Bay on top for good, Nikita Kucherov scored twice and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 in another penalty-filled matchup between the Sunshine State rivals.

Jake Guentzel also scored for Tampa Bay, which has won three straight. Kucherov sealed it with an empty-netter with 56 seconds left.

Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen scored for the Panthers, who lost for just the second time in their last seven games. Florida was 1 for 11 on the power play.

Both teams set season-highs for penalty minutes — by far. Tampa Bay finished with 87, Florida finished with 49. The Lightning had 33 on Nov. 16 against Vancouver; the Panthers had 20 on Nov. 22 against Edmonton.

And there were reminders that these teams, as has been the case forever, simply do not like one another.

Tampa Bay's Scott Sabourin — who had a starring role in the preseason game that featured more than 300 penalty minutes — drew two minors and a misconduct early in the third period for roughing and slashing the Panthers' Niko Mikkola. Sabourin was called up earlier in the day, and three of his nine games with the Lightning this season have been against Florida.

Those penalties against Sabourin came after play was stopped for about eight minutes late in the second period while referees sorted out 13 roughing penalties — seven against Tampa Bay, six against Florida. At one point during a stoppage, there were six players in the Lightning's penalty box.

Sabourin was given another misconduct with 33 seconds remaining, part of a 26-penalty night for Tampa Bay.

Lightning: Host Montreal on Sunday.

Panthers: Host Washington on Monday night.

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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy allows a goal by the Florida Panthers during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) defend the goal against Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) defend the goal against Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) celebrates with teammates after his goal against the Florida Panthers during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) celebrates his goal with teammates in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)