US Unveils Ambitious Plan to Upgrade Air Traffic Control

The Trump administration unveiled a plan on May 8 to overhaul the antiquated US air traffic control system, acting with industry and lawmakers' support on a hot-button issue after a deadly crash in January.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the initiative as a once-in-a-generation upgrade — a project involving the rebuilding of some air traffic control towers and the replacement of radar, sensors and telecommunications with completely state-of-the-art versions.

"I don't need to preserve any of this," Mr. Duffy said, pointing to a table with 1980s computers, floppy disks and other outmoded equipment still in use at US air traffic facilities.

"We're going to build a brand-new car," he added. "It's a brand-new system."

Speaking to those at the event on speakerphone, US President Donald Trump pledged the overhaul "will bring American air traffic control into the highest level of anybody, any country anywhere in the world."

Such a transformation could require tens of billions of dollars that would need congressional support at a time when Mr. Trump's administration is also seeking deep, across-the-board spending cuts to finance tax cuts.

Mr. Duffy did not release an overall price tag during the 75-minute launch event that often resembled a pep rally.