DOGE Secretary Promises Rapid Air Traffic Control Upgrades

Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Secretary of President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, has pledged to make “rapid safety upgrades” to the US air traffic control system. This comes just days after the most deadly plane crash in decades.

“With the support of President [Donald Trump], the [DOGE] team will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system,” Musk noted on social media.

For now, it is unclear exactly what these upgrades will be or what they are set to impact. It’s also hard to tell how much power Musk and other DOGE employees have over the US airspace system. However, one key point could be the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system.

“Just a few days ago, the FAA’s primary aircraft safety notification system failed for several hours,” Musk explained after NOTAMs went down on February 2. This same type of outage caused a nationwide ground stop and impacted more than 11,000 flights in January 2023.

The update will also hopefully address the extreme shortage of air traffic controllers and the painfully outdated equipment they are forced to use. Industry stakeholders have pushed to replace the nearly 50-year-old ATC radar technology with NexGen tracking systems for years, though high costs and delays have limited progress.

While there has been overwhelming support for an air traffic control system reform, many in political power have questioned whether Musk should be the one to make it happen.

“I think it’s petrifying to the American people, especially after we just suffered another horrific tragedy here in Washington, D.C.,” stated Representative Tim Kennedy, a New York Democrat. “Now is not the time to put someone with zero experience in dealing with our national air traffic controllers into any position of authority.”

Others have pointed out that Musk’s leadership of SpaceX creates a conflict of interest. Musk’s company received numerous fines from the FAA due to launch violations. The CEO also played a part in pushing former FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker from his post.

FMI: www.faa.gov