The FAA air traffic control tower at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport

FAA Modernisation: Duffy Asks Congress for $30 Billion More

by Giuseppe Duncan | Sep 24, 2026 | Mondo dell'aviazione, Notizia | 0 comments

Congress put $12.5 billion into rebuilding American air traffic control in 2025. On Tuesday the Transportation Secretary told a Washington audience that the real number is $42.5 billion.

Sean Duffy said the administration will ask Congress for another $30 billion: roughly $10 billion to replace ageing control towers, $10 billion for telecommunications and air traffic technology, and $10 billion for airports. It is more than officials had previously said they would seek, and it arrives while the first phase of the programme is already over budget.

The programme has a name that tells you how the last one went. It is called the Brand New ATC System.

Informazioni rapide

Annunciato	Tuesday 22 September 2026, in a speech in Washington
Chi	US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
New request	$30 billion from Congress
Already allocated	$12.5 billion over five years, approved in 2025
Proposed total	$42.5 billion
Split	About $10 billion each for towers, ATC technology and telecoms, and airports
Programma	Brand New ATC System (BNATCS)
Phase one estimate	$16 billion, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford
Telecoms line item	Now projected at $5.91 billion, up from $4.75 billion
Contesto	A software-based flight management system went live on 21 September

What the Money Is For

The request breaks into three roughly equal parts, and the first is the least glamorous and the most overdue: replacing control towers that are decades past the point where anyone would design them that way. The second funds telecommunications and air traffic technology, including expansion of the new software-based flight management system that started operating on Monday. The third is airport infrastructure.

“We are going to ask Congress for $30 billion. We have to look at how the country has changed and what the needs are at the airports.”

Sean Duffy — US Secretary of Transportation, speaking in Washington on 22 September 2026, as reported by Reuters

Air traffic controllers working at the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center — The part of the system that does not photograph well: controllers at the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center. Much of the modernisation budget goes on infrastructure the travelling public never sees. Photo: FAA, public domain

A substantial share of the current budget is not buying anything new at all — it is keeping legacy systems alive while their replacements are built. That is normal for an infrastructure programme of this size, and it is also how programmes of this size quietly consume their own funding.

The Numbers Are Already Moving

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said last week that phase one alone is expected to cost $16 billion — $3.5 billion more than Congress has appropriated for the entire five-year effort. The FAA intends to cover that gap out of its existing facilities and equipment budget, which is another way of saying it will come from somewhere else in the same agency. Bedford has also said he wants at least another $10 billion for a second phase.

Individual line items are inflating too. Telecommunications upgrades are now projected at $5.91 billion, up from an earlier $4.75 billion estimate — a rise of roughly a quarter on one component, before the bulk of the work has started.

Duffy’s remarks as the FAA rolled out its new AI-assisted air traffic tool on 21 September 2026. Via The Hill.

Why a Budget Line Is Worth Reading

Because the system keeps failing in public. This month a severed cable at the Philadelphia TRACON produced a ground stop at Newark, and the resilience of the national airspace system has become a recurring news story rather than an engineering footnote. Officials have been explicit that under-investment means more delays and a more fragile network.

The uncomfortable comparison is NextGen, the previous modernisation programme, which ran for years and delivered less than promised at more than it was meant to cost. Everyone involved in the Brand New ATC System knows that comparison is coming, which is part of why this request is being made loudly and early rather than absorbed quietly.

Congress now has to decide whether $42.5 billion is the price of a working air traffic control system or the opening bid on something that will cost more again. On the evidence so far, both can be true.

Sources: Reuters; FLYING Magazine; AVweb; Forbes; NBAA.

Domande frequenti

How much is the FAA asking for to modernise air traffic control?

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on 22 September 2026 that the administration will ask Congress for an additional $30 billion. Congress allocated $12.5 billion in 2025, so the request would take the total for the Brand New ATC System to $42.5 billion.

What would the $30 billion be spent on?

Roughly $10 billion would replace ageing air traffic control towers, about $10 billion would fund telecommunications and other air traffic control technology, and about $10 billion would go to airport improvements. Some of the technology money would expand the FAA’s new software-based flight management system.

What is the Brand New ATC System?

BNATCS is the United States programme to replace the country’s ageing air traffic control infrastructure, covering towers, telecommunications, radar and software. Congress approved $12.5 billion over five years for it in 2025. Its first phase alone is now estimated at $16 billion.

Is the FAA modernisation programme over budget?

The first phase is already estimated at $16 billion against $12.5 billion appropriated for the whole five-year effort, and the FAA plans to cover the gap from its existing facilities and equipment budget. Telecommunications upgrades alone have risen from a projected $4.75 billion to $5.91 billion.

Why does US air traffic control need modernising?

Much of the infrastructure is decades old and increasingly fragile. Recent failures, including a severed cable at the Philadelphia TRACON that triggered a ground stop at Newark, have made the point publicly. Officials warn that under-investment means more delays and a less resilient national airspace.

How does this compare to NextGen?

NextGen was the previous US air traffic modernisation programme and is widely regarded as having delivered less than promised while costing more than planned. That comparison is the main political obstacle facing the current request.

Does air traffic control affect civilian fighter jet flights?

Yes. Civilian fighter jet experiences operate in controlled airspace and depend on the same air traffic control system as airline traffic, including reserved training areas and controller coordination. MiGFlug flights and current pricing are listed on the MiGFlug flights and prices page.