A catastrophic mid-air collision in January between a military helicopter and a commercial airliner, along with several subsequent crashes, has compelled officials to address the nation’s obsolete air traffic control system and recruit additional controllers.

Such action, they propose, would contribute to guaranteeing safety and precluding the difficulties that have afflicted Newark, New Jersey, airport since its radar system experienced a temporary malfunction last week.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is planning to announce a multi-billion-dollar plan to significantly change the country's air traffic control system on Thursday. At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration is working to quickly fix technology and staffing problems in Newark and stop similar problems from happening in other places.

During this difficult time, one thing is clear: The old system has trouble managing the country's more than 45,000 flights each day.

It's not clear if Duffy's plan, which President Donald Trump supports, will get the money it needs from Congress to work better than past reform efforts over the last 30 years. But Duffy says it is necessary. Since 2003, over $14 billion has been spent on improvements, but none of them have really changed how the system operates.

"We are actively engaged in addressing the issue and intend to rectify it by constructing an entirely new system for the benefit of all of you, your families, and the American populace," Duffy affirmed.

However, there are not many details available. It is not clear if the plan will privatize the air traffic control system, which Trump supported in his first term. Duffy has not talked about this possibility. The announcement on Thursday is expected to bring together many unions, who would likely be against privatization, as well as trade groups, industry representatives, and families of the victims from the crash in January.

University of Illinois professor Sheldon Jacobson, an aviation risk expert, noted that the system's long-standing, adequate performance had led successive administrations to largely overlook it. However, he emphasized that mere adequacy is insufficient in air travel, where human lives are potentially jeopardized.

Jacobson is not sure if Duffy's proposal will work. However, there might be more support after the crash between an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter over Washington D.C. in January, and a plane that turned over and caught fire in Toronto.

For years, reports and hearings have underscored the frailties of the nation's air traffic control system. Most recently, a March review by the Government Accountability Office found 51 of the FAA's 138 systems unsustainable and another 54 potentially so. Furthermore, a 2023 outage in the FAA’s Notice to Airmen system resulted in the nationwide grounding of all flights for over two hours.

Former Continental Airlines CEO Frank Lorenzo, who helped create a major hub in Newark that United Airlines still uses years after buying Continental, said, "We are dealing with an old system and we have old infrastructure. We haven't really given it the attention it needs."

The head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association informed Congress that much of the FAA’s communication network across over 4,600 locations still depends partly on outdated copper cabling, rather than the more dependable fiber optic technology capable of processing greater volumes of information. Unforeseen disruptions linked to this infrastructure frequently necessitate grounding aircraft at airports and seem to have been a factor in the issues experienced in Newark.

The radar system used by air traffic controllers in Philadelphia to guide planes at Newark Airport stopped working for at least 30 seconds on April 28. This happened possibly because the lines sending radar data from New York failed. Some of these lines are old copper phone lines. The FAA uses these lines because the Newark controllers moved from New York to Philadelphia last summer to help with not having enough staff.

On Wednesday, the FAA announced its intentions to supersede archaic copper wiring with fibre optics and establish three supplementary data links connecting New York and Philadelphia. Additionally, the agency is actively engaged in qualifying and certifying further air traffic controllers.

It wasn't clear right away how long these steps would take, but Duffy hopes things in Newark will get better by summer. This is when a project to build a new runway is supposed to finish. Some controllers are still on long trauma leave after the radar stopped working, which made the lack of staff in Philadelphia even worse.

Consequently, the FAA has reduced flight operations at Newark to uphold safety standards, resulting in cancellations. Duffy also stated that the FAA intends to convene with all airlines to establish the airport's maximum flight capacity. According to FlightAware.com, Newark experienced the highest number of cancellations nationwide on Wednesday, with 42 departing and 46 arriving flights affected, despite United having already decreased its daily flight schedule at the airport by 35 since the previous weekend.

Since its inception in 2003, the FAA's Nextgen program has yielded incremental advancements, notably the development of the ADS-B system. This system furnishes controllers and other aircraft with enhanced precision regarding aircraft positioning. The ADS-B system has become a central focus of the January crash investigation, given that the Black Hawk helicopter was not transmitting its location via this system at the moment of impact.

Duffy has additionally sought to accelerate the recruitment of air traffic controllers by reducing the duration required to enter the academy and enhancing student achievement rates. The FAA is further providing incentives to seasoned controllers to disincentivise premature retirement.

A big problem with making aviation infrastructure better is that the FAA has to keep the old system working while they build a new one. Then, they need to find a way to change to the new system without any problems. This is one reason why the agency has made smaller, step-by-step improvements before.

Jeff Guzetti, a former accident investigator who worked in the Transportation Department for several years on aviation issues, said the problem has been around for decades. He explained that it's not because people ignored it, but because it's a difficult problem to fix. He added that it needs money and good leadership, and the FAA has not had enough of either for many years.