Duffy: Controllers, Not Replaceable

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the federal government will use artificial intelligence to help air traffic controllers, not replace them. (cbsnews.com) Duffy told CBS News on April 21 that the software would help controllers spot congestion weeks ahead by combining airline schedules with Federal Aviation Administration traffic systems and shifting some flights by a few minutes. He said human controllers will keep managing the airspace. (cbsnews.com) The push comes with a larger rebuild of the air traffic control system. Roll Call reported the Department of Transportation says Congress provided $12.5 billion in 2025 for upgrades, including replacing nearly half the system’s copper wiring, converting about 270 radio sites, adding surface-awareness systems at 54 airports, and moving 17 towers from paper strips to electronic ones. (rollcall.com) Duffy also said the department has hired 2,400 air traffic control staff since March 2025, which he called the highest staffing level in six years. In September 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had hired 2,026 new controllers in fiscal 2025, beating its goal of 2,000 and running 20% ahead of 2024’s pace from January through September. (rollcall.com) (transportation.gov) The hiring drive is aimed at a shortage that has built for years. A Government Accountability Office report released in December 2025 said the Federal Aviation Administration employed 13,164 controllers at the end of fiscal 2025, about 6% fewer than in 2015, even as flights in the system rose about 10% between fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2024. (gao.gov) That gap has been hard to close because controller hiring works like a funnel: applicants must pass aptitude screening, medical and security checks, academy training, and years of facility training. The Government Accountability Office said the full process can take two to six years, and medical clearance alone can take some applicants two years. (gao.gov) Staffing problems are not limited to major FAA facilities. The Department of Transportation’s inspector general said in a March 24, 2026, audit that the contract tower program was still understaffed by roughly 18% as of April 2025, despite changes meant to widen the hiring pool and streamline training. (oig.dot.gov) Duffy tied the modernization push to recent safety failures and delays, and he said the government still needs more money for the software side of the overhaul. For now, the administration’s message is that better tools and more people are supposed to arrive together, not one instead of the other. (rollcall.com) (cbsnews.com)