Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Getty Images)
Under the new air traffic control system proposal, the FAA would replace infrastructure, like radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks to manage modern travel.
NEWARK AIRPORT HIT WITH NEW DELAYS, OUTAGE HEARD ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO
Officials say the current system is one "build for the past," but the new proposal is to build a system "for the future."
The plan would ensure facilities are equipped with better technologies to reduce outages, improve efficiency, and reinforce safety.
"We're going to be buying a brand-new, state of the art system that will cover the entire world," President Trump said earlier Thursday.
According to the Transportation Department, the plan consists of four infrastructure components: Communications, Surveillance, Automation and Facilities.
A sign marks the entrance to the FAA headquarters in Washington DC on October 7, 2024. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
The GAO’s 2025 report said the 2023 national airspace prompted an operational risk assessment, which found that of the 138 air traffic control systems, "51 (37%) were deemed unsustainable by FAA and 54 (39%) were potentially unsustainable."
Meanwhile, Secretary Duffy on Thursday said that the administration has assembled an "unprecedented coalition of support" from labor to industry, stressing that support is "indicative of just how important it is to this administration to get done what no one else could."
Duffy added: "The American people are counting on us, and we won’t let them down."
The roll out of the proposal comes just days after the FAA issued a ground delay for Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey due to staffing shortages, weather and construction.
"Our antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce," an FAA statement said. "As Secretary Duffy has said, we must get the best safety technology in the hands of controllers as soon as possible."
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It also comes after air traffic controller audio was made public from when radar and radio communications with planes were briefly lost at Newark Airport on April 28.
The April 28 outage lasted roughly 90 seconds. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association confirmed the incident to Fox News Digital, writing that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s operation in Philadelphia had "temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them."
Fox Business' Grady Trimble contributed to this report.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-proposes-new-air-traffic-control-system-enhance-safety-unlock-future-air-travel