On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Airlines for America (A4A) joined US federal government and industry voices for the AAAE Air Traffic Control Modernisation Summit in Washington, DC. The day’s discussions made one thing clear: Modernising America’s air traffic control system is not only necessary – it is achievable if all parties work together with urgency, stay focused and make the most of critical new funding.
Carpe diem
A4A president and CEO Nicholas E. Calio opened the day on the panel, “The Case for ATC Modernisation: A Discussion with Industry Leaders.” Sharing the stage with other aviation leaders, Calio addressed the challenges facing the National Airspace System (NAS) and the opportunities ahead. He emphasised that modernisation requires sustained collaboration and investment, calling the $12.5 billion in funding from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is a crucial first step. “We all need to stay together and seize this moment,” Calio said, underscoring the importance of unity across government, labour and industry.
Later in the day, A4A’s senior vice president of legislative and regulatory policy, Sharon Pinkerton, co-moderated the panel “Modernising Air Traffic Control: Key Technologies for Transformation in the Sky and on the Ground.” This session took a deep dive into the cutting-edge systems driving the future of Air Traffic Control (ATC) – from advanced surveillance and communications to automation programmes.
Pinkerton pressed panellists to stay grounded in the practical side of delivering upgrades on time and at scale.
“How would you prove to Congress that it can be done in a short amount of time?” she asked, pointing to the sense of urgency that must come with significant funding. Panellist William Colligan, CEO of Indra Air Traffic, reinforced this point saying, “We’ve got to build – especially when you consider the short time frame, we’ve got to do this upgrade. We’ve got to demonstrate the industry’s ability to do this reliably in order to get the additional money.”
Keeping standards high
To close the day, A4A’s Senior Vice President of Operation and Safety, Paul Rinaldi, brought his decades of operational expertise to the panel, “The Runway Ahead: Next Steps for Congress, Administration and Aviation Stakeholders.” He spoke about the Modern Skies Coalition and the importance of never losing sight of the fundamentals. “It’s not just advancing new equipment,” Rinaldi said. “It’s actually getting back down to the basics – the rules, the training and maintaining that standard.”
He also highlighted that accountability must stay front and centre as the FAA and stakeholders implement the historic $12.5 billion investment. “We have to push them [the FAA] to scale at a quicker pace.”
According to A4A, “transportation secretary Sean Duffy is right”: $12.5 billion in funding for air traffic control overhaul is “just the beginning.”
“This is not enough money. We’re going to need more,” Secretary Duffy said in a Cabinet Meeting with President Trump on Tuesday. “But this is a massive new start, the biggest investment. We’ll need some more money on top of it, but a great start from the Big Beautiful Bill.”
US airlines are deeply appreciative of President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s commitment to revamping the US ATC system. The $12.5 billion granted from the One Big Beautiful Bill is a critical down-payment to end the reliance on paper strips, floppy disks and 1950s-era radar running the country’s airspace.
“Upgrading our nation’s ATC system will ensure the US remains the gold standard of aviation safety for decades to come,” says the A4A.
“What the money is going to allow us to do is move from copper to fibre all over the country,” Secretary Duffy said. “We have radar that dates back to the 1950s, some of it from the 60s and 70s. We will get brand new radar across the country as well.”
US airlines are committed to continuing to collaborate with lawmakers and industry stakeholders to achieve the Trump Administration’s vision of overhauling the US air traffic control system from obsolete and antiquated equipment to 21st-century standards.
