Industry Coalition Calls for Additional Funding to Improve Air Traffic Control Staffing and FAA Modernization

NEWS UPDATE | February 19, 2025

WASHINGTON, February 19, 2025 — Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the nation’s leading passenger and cargo airlines, lead a coalition of aviation stakeholders calling on Congress for additional funding to improve air traffic controller (ATC) staffing and expedite the modernization of our National Airspace System (NAS), ensuring the United States remains the gold standard of aviation safety.

“To achieve this, we must support air traffic controller workforce hiring and training, modernize and deploy state-of-the-art air traffic control facilities and equipment, implement procurement and program efficiencies and facility realignment, and address budget reforms for the Airport & Airway Trust Fund (AATF),” the letter said.

The letter follows recent incidents involving commercial flights. The group stressed that commercial aviation remains the safest form of transportation and reiterated its commitment to making sure that accidents like these never happen again.

“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for the management of over 50,000 flights daily transporting more than 2.9 million passengers across our 29 million square miles of airspace,” the letter said. “To maintain a best-in-class ATC system that is globally competitive, it is our unified objective to work with the U.S. Congress and the Administration to find common ground to ensure the operational safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS).”