What Congress should do to make flying in America safer

Like all Americans, the Nation Air Force Sector is united from sadness for recent air accidents. Security is so intertwined in every aspect of our business and culture that when these rare moments of tragedy appear, we are shaking to the core. With many overlapping layers of security, the commercial journey of air is still the safest way of transportation in America. Still, there is no improvement ceiling, and events earlier this year serve as gloomy and reminder that we can never be self -sufficient.

The dedication of both of them President Donald Trump and the Secretary of the Transport Department (DOT) Sean Duffy to directly confront the stagnation that has for decades interfere with the modernization of our air traffic control system has already been a source of encouragement. Dear challenges facing the ATC system will take on an unwavering and double -sided dedication to the Government leadership.

I testified this week before the pododora for transportation and infrastructure on aviation, and the members of the home repeatedly asked me what Congress should do forward. What is needed from the congress is both supervision and focused, the persistent pressure on FAA to act with rush to deal with the long -term lack of ATC -modernization of facilities and critical equipment.

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Now, after tragedy, congress and Trump administration Have the opportunity to achieve historically significant changes. These actions come down to obtaining an emergency financing proposal that will ensure that the Federal Air Force (FAA) has sufficient qualified labor (controllers and technicians), modern technology and long -term repair of the budget process that will allow it to plan long -term capital projects.

In June 2023, an investigation into the general inspector of the point found that “FAA continues to face the challenges of staff and lack a plan for their resolution, which in turn is the risk of continuity of air traffic operations.” And chronic underestimation becomes worse. At the end of the FY 2024, there were 1,020 less certified professional controllers (CPC) than at the end of the FY 2012, which is 9% reduction.

FAA must accelerate its progress in employment controllers and training by expanding capacity on FAA Oklahoma Academy The air traffic enhanced collegial training initiatives (AT-ECTI) in the next 7 to 10 years. The capacity can be improved with increased hours of work at the Academy and offering training in other suitable FAA objects and virtual platforms. New top training systems, including high fidelity simulators that can improve effective training and reduce CPC certification time by 30%, should be acquired and implemented.

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For its part, the FAA must maximize the effectiveness of such agents. For example, an unnecessary and outdated curriculum should be eliminated. And given the current failure rate of 50% of the Academy, an more effective test of assessment of ATCs must develop in order to better predict the candidate’s ability to succeed before entering the training. The FAA should also explore incentive programs for controllers who pass their medical and currency exams to stay at work before the date of retirement. This will provide the short -term benefit of retaining more experienced controllers by hiring a spool.

Replacing the antiquate technology that runs our ATC system will require significant investments from the Federal Government, but supporting the greatest security standards for anyone using the airspace of our country does not deserve anything less. The deprivation of old and outdated technologies and objects will reduce costs and inefficiency, at the same time strengthening American competitiveness.

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In the short term, investments should be aligned with the approach based on risk. Several examples would include upgrades on the notum (informs the pilots of air traffic changes, such as closed runway) and other critical/aging systems to ensure stabilization and unforeseen services.

Telecommunication networks should be upgraded urgently. Improving radar, tower and facility investment should be prioritized based on traffic, risk and age. This should include HVAC and spare energy sources that often cause malfunctions in the service.

Given that the vast majority of delays were generated in New York airspaceThe aging technology for directing the aircraft in the NYC airspace should be redesigned outside, to include fast diverting options. It should be invested in technology that improves the awareness of the pilot situation and provides more precise and reliable interval management.

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The long -term repair of the budget procedure is required to allow the FAA to plan long -term capital projects. FAA is funded by Airport and Airways Trust Fund (AATF), which financed airfield tax, Map tax and several other fees. These FEA funds can only be used through conventional congress funds and are subject to all restrictions on the consumption of the federal budget. Consequently, the FAA budget is completely unpredictable, and the aviation competes with residential care, rail or any other discretionary item for limited discretionary funds.

During this small window for action, the most important thing is that the Congress, Administration and the Airline Community gather and accept bold and decisive actions to ensure that we do not perish this opportunity to improve aviation security.