Elaine L. Chao: Our Air Traffic System Needs a Complete Overhaul. Immediate Relief Is in Reach

Newsweek

22-05-2025

I grew up in the New York City area, and having served as secretary of Transportation and secretary of Labor, I am intimately familiar with Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). Regardless of the occasion, I have always been impressed by the hardworking aviation professionals who keep EWR, one of our nation's busiest international hubs, humming. They, alongside air traffic controllers (ATC), airline pilots, and crew, work tirelessly to ensure that travel through Newark is safe. And it is—safety has never been compromised at EWR, and it remains a core pillar of the entire U.S. aviation system.
In recent weeks, aging air traffic technology coupled with longstanding staffing shortages have unleashed prolonged operational disruptions, putting EWR in the headlines. When airport capacity is already an issue, issues quickly multiply. We've seen this firsthand at EWR—a major hub that routinely schedules more flights than the airport can handle. Any disruption, whether it be technology, staffing, or weather, has a ripple effect that impacts the national airspace and the countless travelers who depend on it.
Former Secretary of the Department of Transportation Elaine L. Chao speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference 2020 (CPAC) hosted by the American Conservative Union on February 28, 2020, in National Harbor, Md.
Former Secretary of the Department of Transportation Elaine L. Chao speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference 2020 (CPAC) hosted by the American Conservative Union on February 28, 2020, in National Harbor, Md.When this happens, dedicated air traffic controllers take immediate action to keep travelers safe. They slow down traffic and implement delay programs to distance aircrafts in the air and on the ground. These actions are necessary for safety, but they are not a replacement for a long-term solution. In fact, they tend to exacerbate travel disruptions by forcing airport operators, ATC, and airlines to further delay, divert, or cancel flights altogether.
So what can be done? Simply put, these issues require a complete and pressing overhaul of our nation's air traffic system. I don't mean an upgrade—I mean a bold effort to rebuild from the ground up by updating our technology and revitalizing our air traffic control system altogether.
A critical first step is to update our technology. I am encouraged by Secretary Sean Duffy's recent announcement of such a plan, one that will replace outdated infrastructure and technologies. Such a plan is long overdue, and I applaud this administration's decision to take aggressive steps to address the root causes of the issues we've recently seen bubble up in Newark and elsewhere. In 2017, we proposed an ATC overhaul and new funding for the system, but it was unsuccessful in Congress.
Second, we must also move urgently to attract, train, and retain air traffic control talent. This includes continuing to expand our ATC training capabilities, streamline hiring, and structure working conditions and compensation to attract the best ATC professionals in the business. Air traffic controllers have immense responsibility on their shoulders and too often get burned out by long hours, overtime, and the frustration of working on systems that date back to the 1970s.
Such sweeping reforms take time and the traveling public can't afford to wait. That's why it's vital that we consider the full suite of policy solutions to address this challenge, including a third step to impose stronger capacity controls at the overburdened EWR airport.
It may surprise you to learn that Newark is the only major airport in the New York City-area that operates without capacity controls—a global standard for managing air traffic demand at constrained airports. New York's other two airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA), have such controls in place.
Taking this step to manage flight traffic will help align demand with real-world capacity, giving air traffic controllers and pilots the breathing room they need to operate efficiently, and providing passengers and crew the enjoyable, convenient travel experience they deserve. This solution cannot stand alone and must be complemented by a broader system transformation. But with Memorial Day Weekend kicking off the summer travel season, it is a small step we can take now to protect the reliability of the system and mitigate travel disruptions in the short-term.
I'll reiterate again that EWR and U.S air travel overall remains safe despite the travel disruptions captured in the headlines. But these disruptions do come at a high price—both in terms of the economic costs incurred by passengers, employees, the airport, airlines, and local businesses, as well as the personal costs of missing a long-awaited vacation or the last flight home after days away on business.
Travelers deserve better. And the system itself—our national airspace—deserves a chance to function the way it was designed to: safely, reliably, with integrity, and with passengers top-of-mind.
The Honorable Elaine L. Chao was the 18th U.S. secretary of Transportation, 24th U.S. secretary of Labor, and first Asian American woman named to the president's cabinet in history.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.