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The Trump administration increased its air traffic control funding request to USD 50 billion late Friday after a communications failure halted thousands of flights nationwide. The disruption lasted several hours and affected Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facilities that manage aircraft traveling between airports. Earlier on Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the White House had requested USD 30.1 billion to modernize the country's aging aviation infrastructure.
The nationwide ground stop brought renewed attention to technical problems across the US aviation network. The administration wants Congress to approve additional funding before the end of the year.
Duffy described the situation as an emergency following Friday's widespread flight disruptions. The communications failure affected the FAA's en route centers, which guide aircraft between airports. These facilities form part of the country's air traffic management network.
Meanwhile, the Republican-led Senate Commerce Committee called for greater attention to upgrading en route centers rather than other infrastructure projects. The committee noted that Congress had already approved USD 1.9 billion to replace outdated facilities.
Friday's disruption follows several incidents that have raised concerns about aviation safety. In January 2025, a midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people.
Congress subsequently approved USD 12.5 billion in July 2025 for improvements over five years. That funding covers air traffic control upgrades and the recruitment of additional controllers. Lawmakers approved the money following complaints about flight delays, airport congestion, and technical failures.
The initial request from Duffy and White House budget director Russell Vought included USD 10.1 billion for air traffic control modernization. Of that amount, USD 7.2 billion would cover a common automation platform and new controller workstations. Another USD 2 billion would support cloud computing.
In their letter to lawmakers, Duffy and Vought called for swift action on the funding proposal. They identified telecommunications networks, computer hardware, software and control towers as areas that require investment.
The original USD 30.1 billion proposal also allocated USD 2 billion toward replacing and improving FAA control towers. Airport-related projects accounted for another USD 18 billion. Among those projects, USD 10 billion would support the replacement or modernization of aging airport terminals.
Several major US airlines have expressed support for the funding request. They include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.
The proposal comes as the FAA continues to operate computers that are decades old. The agency also purchases replacement components through auction websites to maintain its existing equipment.
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Last week, the FAA announced plans to eliminate floppy disks from more than 400 air traffic control facilities by the end of 2028. Controllers currently rely on the storage devices for weather information and other critical operational data.
Alongside these changes, the agency has made progress in replacing its telecommunications equipment. Duffy and Vought told lawmakers that the FAA had replaced 68% of its legacy copper network with high-speed fiber infrastructure.
Nevertheless, communication failures have continued to interrupt flight operations. In September, separate incidents involving telecommunications infrastructure caused widespread delays and cancellations across the northeastern United States.
A circuit failure at a Philadelphia air traffic facility contributed to the disruption. At the same time, a construction crew accidentally cut a fiber-optic cable in New Jersey. Together, the two failures affected thousands of flights across the region.
The Trump administration wants the Republican-led Congress to approve further aviation spending during the final weeks of the year. Democrats are set to assume control of Congress in January.
The Trump administration's USD 50 billion air traffic control funding request follows repeated technical failures across the US aviation network. The proposed investment targets outdated telecommunications equipment, control towers and airport infrastructure. Congress now faces a funding decision before the change in congressional leadership in January.