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Airlines CEOs sent a joint letter to Congress on Wednesday saying the current air traffic control system is “wildly out of date” and “failing Americans.”
The letter, signed by the CEOs of Alaska (ALK+0.78%), American (AAL+0.15%), Atlas, Delta (DAL-1.62%), FedEx (FDX-1.02%), JetBlue (JBLU+3.23%), Southwest (LUV+1.96%), United (UAL-0.79%), and UPS (UPS-2.23%), along with Airlines for America, asks Congress “to take bold action and rebuild America’s aging air traffic control (ATC) system.”
It calls on lawmakers to support Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s plan to invest in a new, modern system, which is currently under consideration in budget talks.
“Aviation remains the safest mode of transportation in the U.S., but for it to remain so, serious upgrades need to happen now,” the CEOs wrote.
While the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has estimated it could cost around $12.5 billion for a brand new system, the CEOs said it’s a prudent use of taxpayer money.
“Right now, it’s more expensive to continue supporting the technology and equipment from the 1980s than it is to buy a new ATC system,” they wrote, calling it “a solid down payment that will help keep air travel safe and efficient for Americans who fly and ship goods every day.”
The letter also highlighted just how dated the technology is, saying air traffic controllers “should not be operating with corroded copper wiring, floppy disks and physical strips of paper with flight numbers.”
The letter comes amid a weeks-long meltdown at Newark Airport, where air traffic controllers lost all contact with planes twice in the past month. Many controllers took leave from work following the incidents, leading to scores of flight delays and cancellations. And it’s not just Newark: An air traffic controller facility in Colorado recently had a communication outage, and Atlanta’s airport also ground to a halt last week.
“The United States needs and deserves a world-class aviation system. Let’s get this done!” the CEOs wrote.