U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Speaks to Airport Executives at the AAAE Washington Legislative Conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy delivered a keynote address at the American Association of Airport Executives’ (AAAE) Washington Legislative Conference. In his speech, he stressed the department’s number one job is safety, and under his leadership the Department is constantly looking for ways to make air travel safer, whether that’s through new policy initiatives, investing in new technology, or utilizing AI. Secretary Duffy also highlighted his plan to upgrade our air traffic control system. 

Key Excerpt: 

“I am not going to tell you my exact plan, but I have briefed the President, but we are talking about how we upgrade our air traffic control system. As some background, we are using copper wires and that was great 30 years ago, it was once top of the line technology, but we are one of the last institutions on copper. These systems aren’t even serviced anymore, and we have to pay additional fees to give companies to service this old system. [...] We are the United States of America [...] and we are using the most antiquated, old system that anyone could imagine. This has to be updated. [...] We don’t have a choice. We are starting to see cracks in the system. The system is safe. But, if we don’t do it now, five years from now, ten years from now, we are going to see the consequences of not taking action.” - Transportation Secretary Duffy