1/25 🧵 DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said of the Newark Airport ATC mess: "I think it's clear that the blame belongs with the last administration. Pete Buttigieg & Joe Biden did nothing to fix the system." This is at once incorrect, hypocritical, & dangerous. https://www.youtube.com/live/x...
2/25 1) To say the last administration did nothing on ATC is false. 2) If it's a blame game, then both Trump-I/Chao & Trump-II/Duffy share plenty of blame. 3) These are life-threatening serious issues but in 3+ months this administration has shown a shocking lack of seriousness.
3/25 FAA's own website has a 24 Aug 2023 press release showing the hiring of 1,500 controllers with 2,600 in training. Biden/Buttigieg also initiated new training programs; I know because some of my students @ Vaughn College of Aeronautics were future ATC. https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/f...
4/25 For generations there's been a bipartisan consensus in Washington that aviation safety should transcend party politics for the shared goal of ensuring safe skies. At DOT that ended yesterday with Duffy. But thankfully many in Congress continue working across the aisle.
5/25 Just days ago House Aviation Chairs & Ranking Members jointly called to fix ATC. For years I've worked with & testified before House & Senate members on airline safety. The 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act included safety rules supported by both parties. https://transportation.house.g...
6/25 That Duffy abandoned such traditions to throw rocks is mind-boggling considering this administration's glass control tower. Consider that in June 2017 Trump called for moving ATC to a nonprofit corporation. That never happened. https://www.natca.org/2017/06/...
7/25 Later in 2017, Trump's rhetoric heightened when he said FAA's oversight of ATC was "horrible." His first DOT Secretary, Elaine Chao, distanced herself by saying: "Those are not my words." https://titus.house.gov/news/d...
8/25 Meanwhile, GAO stated the first Trump administration stopped providing cost estimates on ATC upgrades: "FAA officials said the pandemic prevented them from doing so, but the last update occurred in 2017, which preceded the pandemic by several years." https://transportation.house.g...
9/25 By 2019, two patterns emerged. The nation was facing severe controller shortages due to attrition & early retirements. And two crippling government shutdowns under Trump--the second lasting 35 days in Dec 2018-Jan 2019--"demoralized" unpaid ATC staff. https://www.govexec.com/manage...
10/25 The larger lesson isn't that Trump is solely to blame for the ATC mess, anymore than Biden is. Duffy's accusations are wrong primarily because if it's a blame game, then there's a ton of blame to be spread dating back to 1981--starting with Reagan firing 11,000 controllers.
11/25 For more than 40 years, FAA hiring hasn't kept up with US airline growth. In 1985, domestic carriers boarded 382M passengers; by 2024 that had nearly tripled by soaring to 983M. But FAA hiring hasn't kept pace. https://www.airlines.org/datas...
12/25 Between 2012 & 2023, FAA's ATC staffing fell by 1,000 controllers. This includes the entirety of Trump's first term. https://www.govexec.com/workfo...
13/25 Note: These trends apply not just to FAA's ATC staff, but also to FAA safety inspectors overseeing airlines, manufacturers such as Boeing, & foreign repair stations. Under Trump (2018-2021), total Flight Standards staff fell from 5,202 to 5,125. https://www.faa.gov/about/budg...
14/25 So who is to blame for our ATC mess? In fairness to the FAA, the short answer is Congress. Along with every Presidential administration. That means 21 Congresses & eight Presidents between 1985 and 2025 (including Trump twice). And that means both political parties.
15/25 Ultimately Congress holds the "power of the purse" so when prominent Congressional members are now shocked--SHOCKED!!--that we have outdated ATC technology like copper wiring, it's fair to ask: Why didn't you do something about it?
16/25 Each President also could have used the bully pulpit to ensure the American public knew ATC faced a crisis & pressure Congress to fix understaffing, under-equipping, & underfunding FAA. But that long-elusive Infrastructure Week became a punchline. https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/23...
17/25 Again, this isn't blue-vs-red politics and the ATC neglect that has festered for 40 years is larger than any single administration. But it's worth noting that Secretary Duffy, as then-Rep. Duffy (R-WI), voted AGAINST funding the FAA in 2019. https://meidasnews.com/news/tr...
18/25 Now it's 2025 and the recent spate of airline crashes, near-misses, & ATC meltdowns (with Newark labeled Exhibit A) has generated a national discussion about airline safety that I haven't seen since 9/11. So let's talk fixing rather than blaming. https://www.politico.com/news/...
19/25 Last week I & many others live-streamed Duffy when he announced a "brand new" ATC system. He was joined onstage by Congressional leaders, airline CEOs, unions, industry reps, & even family members of those killed in the DCA mid-air crash in January. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
20/25 Who could disagree with Duffy finally fixing ATC, which is so critical not only to safety but also to America's economy, security, & way of life? I & many others have said the world's largest & most complex ATC system is way overdue for overhauling. https://www.frommers.com/tips/...
21/25 But as I said to numerous reporters this week, it's hard to appraise Duffy's plan because he was far too short on details. Washington has talked about fixing ATC for decades, but Next Generation (NextGen) ATC never fully happened & is now LastGen. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/11...
22/25 I served on DOT Sec. LaHood's Future of Aviation Advisory Committee under Obama in 2010 & we debated NextGen and how to address ATC modernization. A key sticking point was the airlines balking at their share of the funding. https://www.transportation.gov...
23/25 As a former airline operations manager & FAA-licensed dispatcher, I can confirm our outdated ATC network has become a punching bag for all flight disruptions. Even those that US airlines could avoid by better scheduling & flight management. https://www.frommers.com/tips/...
24/25 So while everyone agrees ATC needs fixing, we'd all love to see the plan. Virtually every expert claims it will take more than Duffy's estimate of 3-4 years; GAO estimates 10-13 years. And much more than $12.5 billion to upgrade 100s of facilities. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08...
25/25 But mixed messages on air safety from the White House on down are troubling. DOGE, cutting ATC maintenance, anti-DEIA, letting Elon Musk send mindless memos to FAA staff. A "big beautiful" Starlink contract won't fix ATC. Neither will profitizing it. https://www.frommers.com/tips/...