Duffy says new air traffic control software deploys in late September

Now I have enough to write the article.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the federal government will begin rolling out new air traffic control software at the end of September, calling it the payoff of a modernization effort that has been decades in the making. "We are going to start to deploy new software at the end of September, and we're going to do it slowly because we have to do it safely," Duffy said Monday, according to remarks captured by Grabien.

Duffy made the comments during an appearance on Fox and Friends, where he framed the software as central to fixing chronic flight delays that have frustrated travelers, according to RedState. "This has been three decades in the making... We are going to start to deploy new software at the end of September... This is going to be the magic that's going to help us improve the efficiency of air space," Duffy said, according to RedState, which also reported him crediting "Congress and @POTUS making sure this could happen." RedState also reported that Duffy said on the show, "Stop canceling my flight!" adding that he wants to see fewer cancellations and delays.

The software effort traces back to a contract the FAA awarded earlier this year to Air Space Intelligence for two linked systems. According to the FAA, the Flow Management Data and Services system will be the new technological backbone of the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center, balancing air traffic demand with capacity and providing the data that underpins traffic management, while an enhancement called Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories will use that data to prevent congestion and delays by strategically coordinating schedules and trajectories before aircraft depart. The FAA said at the time that it plans to begin initial operations using this new software this fall, consistent with the September timeline Duffy has now reiterated. RedState reported that the effort is part of a $12.5 billion aviation upgrade initiative provided for by the 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill."

The push for new technology follows a string of high-profile breakdowns in the aging system, most notably repeated radar and communications outages at Newark Liberty International Airport in the spring. CNN reported that in the wake of Newark's repeated outages, which led some controllers to take trauma leave, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pledged a massive modernization of the air traffic control system by 2028. CNN separately reported that the Department of Transportation announced a three-year plan to build a "brand-new air traffic control system" by 2028. NPR has reported that despite the fixes underway, it will be a lot harder to make up for decades of underinvestment and failed attempts to modernize the system.

Duffy has said the $12.5 billion already secured is only a starting point. CNN reported that the DOT's goal is to complete the total overhaul of the air traffic control system by the end of 2028, and that Duffy said he needs an additional $7 to $10 billion to upgrade the software, leaving it to Congress to decide how to fund additional upgrades to facilities. Duffy expressed confidence in the project's pace, telling CNN, "For the most part, we're on track to have this project completed before President Trump leaves office."

The broader modernization plan Duffy has outlined extends well beyond software. NewsNation reported that the project will require 10 million hours of labor for manufacturing and implementation at 4,600 sites nationwide, that Duffy believes the full project will take 2.5 years to finish, and that his plans also include installing 27,000 new radios and upgrading hundreds of radars. The Hill reported that Duffy has compared the current air traffic control system to a "flip phone" that can't be built on and needs to be overhauled, arguing a new system would allow continuous updates the way a smartphone does.

Duffy's Monday remarks did not specify which airports or facilities would receive the new software first, nor did they include a detailed cost breakdown for that specific component of the broader modernization plan. The Department of Transportation has not published additional details beyond the late-September start date Duffy referenced. With the wider overhaul targeted for completion by the end of 2028, the software rollout is expected to serve as an early, closely watched test of whether the administration's ambitious timeline can hold as the country's air traffic system moves away from decades-old technology.