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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is urging Congress to approve funding to upgrade the nation's air traffic control systems following a recent nationwide ground stop. Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Duffy emphasized the need for financial support to modernize the outdated infrastructure, which he claims is already architecturally prepared for a state-of-the-art telecom system. He stated, "I need that money so I can start that build," according to NBC News.
The ground stop, which occurred on Friday, was attributed to contractor error and faulty equipment, disrupting flights across the country. Duffy explained that the incident was caused by a router issue during maintenance work by contractor L3Harris, as reported by The Hill. He noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working to resume normal operations by Monday.
President Donald Trump also called for increased funding, highlighting on Truth Social that much of the current air control system is 50 years old. The administration is seeking $30 billion to complete the modernization of the national airspace, as detailed in a letter sent to Congress by Duffy and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.
Duffy has been actively lobbying lawmakers, with support from the White House, to secure the necessary funds. He mentioned that he plans to hold meetings with lawmakers in the coming weeks to discuss the funding request, according to Politico.
Despite bipartisan support for modernizing the air traffic control system, some lawmakers, like Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), have questioned the need for additional funding, arguing that Congress has already met previous requests.