You Can Now Track FAA Efforts To Fix ‘Antiquated’ Air Traffic Control

BusinessAerospace & DefenseYou Can Now Track FAA Efforts To Fix ‘Antiquated’ Air Traffic ControlByMarisa Garcia,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Offering an insider’s view of the business of flight.Follow AuthorMay 25, 2026, 05:30am EDTWASHINGTON, DC - MAY 01: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy holds a news conference about adding more air traffic controllers to the workforce at the DOT headquarters on May 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. Counter to the Trump Administration's historic layoffs of federal workers, Duffy announced incentives to train new air traffic controllers and to retain controllers that may be close to retirement. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Getty ImagesLast May, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy committed to modernizing the “antiquated” infrastructure that forms the backbone of the U.S. national airspace system, much of which dates back to the 1960s. The effort, which has received $12.5 billion in funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill, would replace ageing infrastructure at over 4,600 sites nationwide that U.S. air traffic controllers use as they coordinate air traffic in a system that has grown twelvefold since the equipment was first installed. Now, as proof of progress, the Federal Aviation Administration has launched a new website where travellers can track how far along the program to modernise air traffic control is, nationally and locally. The Modern Skies website, which went live just ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend, includes information on over 10,000 air traffic control modernization projects currently running. “The site’s data will be updated monthly to ensure the flying public has an unprecedented level of transparency into how their tax dollars are being spent,” the FAA states in the announcement. U.S. Air Traffic Control Is Short On Staff And InfrastructureThe U.S. has been contending with an ongoing shortage of trained...