Sean Duffy demands $50B from Congress to replace aging FAA systems after nationwide ground stop
From USA TODAY.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy renewed President Donald Trump’s request for Congress to approve $30 billion to upgrade the nation’s air traffic control system – and increased the ask by $20 billion.
“The president’s asked for $30 billion,” Duffy said. “I want $50 billion.”
“What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system,” Duffy said, adding that switches and routers got “overloaded” in the system’s analog technology. “They started to give us inconsistency in the data from those routers, and because of that we shut the system down.”
In announcing the ground stop earlier in the day, the agency cited extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns related to an air traffic control issue. The directive instructed all departing aircraft to remain on the ground until further notice.
“The president’s asked for $30 billion,” Duffy said. “I want $50 billion.”
“What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system,” Duffy said, adding that switches and routers got “overloaded” in the system’s analog technology. “They started to give us inconsistency in the data from those routers, and because of that we shut the system down.”
In announcing the ground stop earlier in the day, the agency cited extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns related to an air traffic control issue. The directive instructed all departing aircraft to remain on the ground until further notice.
