The funding request increased after a communications failure caused a nationwide ground stop that disrupted thousands of flights on Friday.
The Trump administration has increased its demand for air traffic control funding to $50 billion following a nationwide ground stop in the United States on Friday, according to reports by The Times of India, BusinessLine and The Economic Times. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the halt around 4 pm EST after a communications issue at en route centres affected aircraft movement between airports.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the disruption was caused by data overloading routers and switches, which created inconsistent information within the system. The ground stop lasted nearly four hours before being lifted at approximately 8:15 pm. Duffy stated the incident was an emergency and highlighted the need to replace ageing infrastructure with new hardware, software and telecommunications.
The administration's initial request of $30.1 billion included $10.1 billion for air traffic control modernisation, $2 billion for FAA control towers and $18 billion for airport projects. The updated $50 billion demand follows the Friday outage. Major airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have expressed support for the request.
The FAA currently uses decades-old computers and parts from online auction sites. The agency plans to phase out floppy disks used for weather data at more than 400 facilities by the end of 2028. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no evidence of a cyberattack, though investigations are ongoing.
The administration is urging the Republican-led Congress to approve the funds before Democrats take control in January. This follows previous aviation incidents, including a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January 2025 that killed 67 people.
