Can the Dept. of Transportation and Sean Duffy fix an antiquated and frequently broken air traffic control system?

Washington CNN After days as Secretary of the Department of Transportation Sean Duffy says he has the best job in the governing body because he can make things safer for Americans It s a job that didn t come with plenty of days off since the moment the -year-old started Duffy sworn by Judge Clarence Thomas on the afternoon of Jan had his work cut out for him when the deadliest US airplane crash in nearly two decades happened the next day at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Sixty-seven families now don t have their loved one he communicated CNN in an interview As I thought about that I thought about what else is out there that could bring us another situation like DCA and if I could I d prevent it Duffy a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin and cable news co-host on the Fox Business channel first rose to national prominence in his s on the MTV reality TV shows Real World and Road Rules All Stars where he met his wife The former competitive lumberjack and district attorney has dealt with a slew of aviation safety incidents in just a scant months leading the DOT and a struggling air traffic control system facing staffing shortages and antiquated system due for an upgrade I think people don t want to know who their Secretary of Transportation is because then everything is functioning really well he announced When you see these issues we got to come out and say there s a trouble Let s tell it They ll know who their secretary is but this is a moment in time where we have to dig deep and go hard and serve the people Though he stepped into the role without much of a background in transportation Duffy s latest aspiration is to improve air voyage safety by replacing the country s air traffic control system On Thursday his department rolled out a -year plan for modernizing air traffic control The massive plan has left a few experts skeptical it can be done so rapidly but there is wide agreement something necessities to be done to fix the failing system Can the DOT do it The ambitious plan includes new radios voice switches new radars and six air traffic control centers all intended to be operational by Yet nothing can go forward without the help of Congress Besides up front funding Duffy called for transformation to the way establishment permits are issued to avoid what he sees as delays from red tape He won t put an exact number on how much money is needed but Duffy estimates it to be in the tens of billions I can t do by myself Duffy mentioned I don t have billions of dollars in my wallet I need them to do it I need them to give me the tools But I m begging them to let me do this and pay this forward for the families Pay it forward for our families who excursion Elaine Chao who resigned as Trump s DOT Secretary after the Jan Capitol attack praised Duffy s work Secretary Duffy has taken on an incredibly demanding role and I ve been impressed by his leadership over the past scant months she disclosed I encouragement his efforts to modification and modernize our antiquated ATC system This necessities to get done and I urge leaders on both sides to get behind this effort Michele Polese is an assistant research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University and expert in wireless networks He called the plan to upgrade the air traffic control system an initial capital that in the long run will allow for a financial savings on money spent on maintenance and updates To pull off an upgrade like this he emphasized if there is enough money budgeted it can happen fast but the money is key The improved high bandwidth communication link with fiber optics I think that s something that can be done more fleetly if there is budget and interest Polese disclosed Duffy in the spotlight When Newark s air traffic control systems failed briefly on April United CEO Scott Kirby picked up his phone and was in immediate contact with Duffy he described CNN The people of aviation do an amazing job keeping the system safe Kirby explained Thursday thanking Duffy for his effort At the news conference Thursday the heads of five of the country s major air carriers stood on stage alongside Duffy in endorsement of the new air traffic control plan Among them was Robert Isom CEO of American Airlines whose regional jet collided with the Army helicopter Jan in Washington Secretary Duffy has proven to be a thoughtful decisive and capable leader during a few incredibly challenging times Isom noted He acted decisively to restrict helicopter traffic around DCA after the tragic accident involving Flight and he continuously prioritizes the safety and efficiency of the aviation system He is doing his best to tackle problems that have plagued our industry for decades and I am grateful for his leadership The show of assistance was also echoed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association the union which represents controllers and hasn t inevitably agreed with the department NATCA is ready to continue working with Secretary Duffy the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure that all modernization efforts include involvement from the National Airspace System s preponderance fundamental stock the hardworking air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals who keep our skies safe day in and day out commented Nick Daniels president of NATCA in a declaration Their expertise will help guarantee that the state-of-the-art systems Sec Duffy envisions work optimally Duffy has also vocalized his intentions to review the mandatory air traffic controller retirement age which is at present set at which the union opposes NATCA does not believe Sec Duffy s proposal is an effective approach to addressing the chronic air traffic controller staffing emergency the union commented in a comment in February In the next months we anticipate ATCs across facilities will reach age This is not enough to address the nationwide staffing shortage Congress members from both sides of the aisle were present Thursday and Duffy announced there was bipartisan patronage for his plan We don t want the effort to span generations explained Rep Rick Larsen a Democrat and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee We just we need to get moving on this sooner rather than later including any new investments in procedures reforms that build on the law to modernize the nation s ATC infrastructure and growing the aviation safety workforce CNN s Pete Muntean contributed to this summary The-CNN-Wire Cable News Organization Inc a Warner Bros Discovery Company All rights reserved Source