Senate bill proposes $30bn more for US air traffic control overhaul
A new Senate bill would add $30 billion to federal spending on modernising US air traffic control, on top of $12.5 billion Congress approved in 2025. The transport secretary and the bill's sponsor say the extra money is needed to finish the work.
Eric Schmitt, a Republican senator from Missouri, introduced the Modern Skies Act on 28 September. The bill seeks $30 billion for the programme to replace and upgrade the equipment behind the US air traffic control system. That figure is separate from the $12.5 billion Congress approved in 2025.
Schmitt and US transportation secretary Sean Duffy are urging lawmakers to back the additional funding. Duffy said work already funded has replaced most ageing copper cabling in control towers with fibre, swapped out close to a third of the radios controllers use, and put new surveillance equipment into half of the airports the programme is targeting. He also pointed to a scheduling tool intended to cut delays and cancellations.
The $30 billion would be split evenly across three areas, each receiving $10 billion. The first share would go towards finishing upgrades to the digital side of the system. The source does not set out the other two.
The wider modernisation effort gathered pace after a January 2025 mid-air collision near Washington, DC, involving a PSA Airlines regional jet and a US Army helicopter. In May 2025 the Department of Transportation, with President Donald Trump's backing, set out its Brand-New Air Traffic Control System initiative to speed the work along. Two months later, Congress cleared $12.5 billion for the initiative through the Working Families Tax Cut Act, described at the time as an initial payment towards the larger overhaul.
Sources
- flightglobal.comUS Senate’s new Modern Skies Act seeks $30bn to complete ATC modernisations