Transportation Sec Sean Duffy says FAA systems are ‘antiquated,’ calls for more air traffic controllers

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says that many of the Federal Aviation Administration’s systems remain “antiquated” and are in need of updates amid a “plummet” in recruitment for air traffic controllers.

Duffy made the statement during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream. The Trump administration official affirmed that America’s skies remain the safest in the world, but he also said major changes could be made to improve the FAA’s systems.

“We have the safest skies in the whole world. Traveling by air is the safest mode of transportation,” Duffy said. “It’s not just air traffic controllers, but we do have technologies on airplanes to keep them separated. So, yeah, no, this is the safest system.”

Duffy went on to say that the U.S. system “does need to be upgraded.” He also noted an outage of the FAA’s pilot warning system, the “Notice to Air Mission” or NOTAM system, on Saturday night, calling it “antiquated.”

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Secretary of U.S. Department of Transportation Sean Duffy addresses the media, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

The FAA imposes a mandatory retirement age of 55 for air traffic controllers, causing a large amount of turnover. Duffy noted that the FAA’s training academy was bottlenecked during COVID-19, causing small class sizes and delaying the process as trainees could not get in-person experience at control towers.

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He said he is focusing on training a new generation of recruits.

“You can’t focus on diversity, equity and inclusion when you try to hire air traffic controllers, you focus on the best and brightest,” Duffy told Bream. “I mean, again, some people like me like to have this conversation around equity. But if it’s your pilots or if it’s your air traffic controllers, you want the best. You want the brightest protecting yourself and your family. That’s what we’re going to do with the department.”

First responders work the scene after what witnesses say was a plane crash in Philadelphia on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.  (Matt Rourke/AP)

Duffy’s statements come after two aviation disasters struck the U.S., including the collision of a military Blackhawk helicopter with an American Airlines jet in Washington, D.C., last week. A private plane also plummeted out of the sky in Pennsylvania this weekend.

Investigations are ongoing for both crashes. Duffy said he is particularly interested in the communications that the control tower at Reagan National Airport had with both the jet and the helicopter in last week’s crash.

Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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“What happened in the tower? What was going on with the staffing? What should have been done and what was done? What was the language that was used by the air traffic controller? Was it appropriate? Did they appropriately direct traffic consistent with procedures at the FAA?” Duffy asked.