US Transportation Secretary to meet with airlines on ATC reform 

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is set to meet with the heads of the nation’s largest airlines on September 10 to gather their input as the government prepares for an ambitious overhaul of the country’s air traffic control system.   The high-stakes talks come amid rising pressure to modernize an ATC network strained by mounting safety issues and headline-grabbing mishaps and tragedies. 

According to Reuters, Duffy will attend a Wednesday meeting of Airlines for America (A4A), the trade group representing United, Delta, American, Southwest, and other major US carriers. The agenda centers on the government’s $12.5 billion ATC modernization plans, as well as Duffy’s call for Congress to authorize an additional $19 billion in funding to fix a system critics say is badly in need of upgrades. 

The push follows a string of troubling events, including a January crash in which a US Army helicopter collided with an American Eagle regional jet, killing 67 people. The accident, coupled with multiple high-profile runway near-misses this year, has fueled public concern and underscored long-standing warnings about a broken ATC system.  Equally as troubling, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey suffered a number of high-profile ATC outages this year that underscored the fragility of the US’s air traffic control system. On April 28, the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) lost radar and communications for roughly 60 to 90 seconds, leaving controllers handling EWR traffic unable to track aircraft or talk to pilots. Just two weeks later, on May 9, a nearly identical 90-second outage occurred, with controllers warning pilots that their “scopes just went black.”

The FAA responded with temporary flight restrictions at EWR, additional staffing, and fiber-optic upgrades to the telecom network, but those steps remain interim fixes as broader reform is considered. 

US air traffic control infrastructure, much of which still relies on decades-old radar technology, has long been criticized for lagging behind modernization efforts in Europe and Asia. Proponents of reform argue that technology upgrades and staffing increases will reduce delays, improve safety margins, and better prepare the network for rising passenger demand. 

While safety upgrades are a top priority for regulators, the meeting will also spotlight deepening tensions between the US Department of Transportation and the airline industry over consumer rights. 

Just days before the meeting, the Transportation Department announced it would abandon a proposal that would have required airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when flights were delayed for reasons within a carrier’s control. The decision to scrap the payments was welcomed by airlines but denounced by consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers. US law only requires refunds for canceled flights. For delays, passengers often must rely on the goodwill of carriers to receive vouchers or rebooking. 

The meeting on September 10 illustrates the balancing act facing the transportation chief. Duffy is pressing lawmakers for billions to strengthen air traffic control and prevent further tragedies, but Congressional approval for the additional $19 billion he is asking for remains uncertain.  

For now, the airline CEOs meeting with Duffy are likely to welcome the prospect of more government investment in ATC infrastructure, even as they continue to resist mandates on how they manage their businesses. How these conflicting priorities are reconciled could shape the direction of US aviation policy for years to come. The post US Transportation Secretary to meet with airlines on ATC reform  appeared first on AeroTime.

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