The chief executives of major U.S. passenger and cargo airlines have issued a joint plea to Congress, calling for billions of dollars in funding to urgently modernise the country’s aging air traffic control (ATC) system, warning that it is “failing Americans.”
In a letter sent on Wednesday, the CEOs of American Airlines, United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, and Atlas Air, alongside senior executives from FedEx and UPS, highlighted recent ATC failures—particularly those that disrupted operations at Newark Liberty International Airport—as evidence of the system’s growing instability.
“The FAA’s technology is wildly out of date,” the executives wrote. “Without swift action, the challenges we face will only grow worse as the U.S. airspace becomes more congested.”
The letter arrives just days before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, which marks the unofficial start of the summer travel season, one of the busiest periods for U.S. aviation. Carriers warn that outdated systems could lead to delays, cancellations, and safety concerns if left unaddressed.
The airline leaders are pushing for investment in NextGen—the Federal Aviation Administration’s long-delayed programme to transition from radar-based systems to satellite-based navigation—as well as improvements in staffing, cybersecurity, and digital communication infrastructure.
Industry groups have long argued that the FAA’s technological lag is a threat to operational efficiency, as the U.S. remains heavily reliant on legacy systems built decades ago.
Several other countries, including in Europe and Asia, have already adopted more advanced ATC technologies.
The letter signals growing frustration within the aviation sector over delays in federal support, as well as mounting pressure on lawmakers to act ahead of a travel surge that could strain current infrastructure even further.
