Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy touts $12.5B upgrade for outdated air traffic control tech

The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to spend $12.5 billion recently allocated by Congress to upgrade the outdated technology underpinning the nation's air traffic control network.

The funding aims to replace aging systems that rely on floppy disks, paper strips and copper wiring. These outdated tools frequently contribute to system failures, flight delays and travel headaches for passengers.

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Speaking at a summit in Washington, D.C., Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the investment will create a safer, more efficient system capable of handling more flights in the U.S.

"These upgrades are going to make travel more seamless," Duffy said. "We're going to make our skies safer. We're going to unleash the next wave of innovations, and it's going to help us attract more air traffic controllers."

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The Federal Aviation Administration has attempted to modernize its systems for decades. Despite the $12.5 billion cash infusion, however, the agency still requires billions of additional dollars to fully complete the upgrades.