During a recent tour of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy highlighted how the facility has received new radio technology designed to improve coordination between pilots and air traffic controllers. 

The upgrades are part of a broader effort to replace decades-old aviation equipment with faster, more reliable technology at the nation’s busiest travel hubs. As the plan moves forward, Arizona’s elected leaders should make it a priority to get the remaining funding for the initiative over the finish line. 

In 2025, Phoenix airport was ranked among the top 10 busiest airports in the U.S. — serving more than 50 million passengers over the course of the year. But as Secretary Duffy recently noted, the reliability required to move that many travelers efficiently depends on systems that, in many cases, date back to the 1980s.

Relying on aging technology carries severe risks. Hospitals do not rely on Windows 95 to manage patient databases the way banks no longer process billions of dollars in transactions using dial-up internet and floppy disks. Experts know that a single failure could cascade into a system-wide mess. 

Air travel should be treated no differently. 

Yet today, 51 of the nation’s 138 aviation systems are unsustainable, according to a 2024 Government Accountability Office report. Outdated functionality, a lack of spare parts, and other operational issues continue to hamper operations at airports across the U.S. — both large and small.

The result? Roughly 90% of the Federal Aviation Administration’s equipment and facilities budget goes toward upkeep rather than financing efforts to upgrade these old systems. 

Air traffic control staffing pressures only compound these challenges. Nationwide controller shortages have left many towers stretched thin. In Prescott, for example, staffing levels sit at just four-fifths of the required operational capacity.

Congress addressed some of these vulnerabilities last summer after it approved $12.5 billion for air traffic control modernization. Replacing legacy copper wiring, voice switches and radios with modern systems that improve communication, enhance runway safety, and provide better weather forecasting are just a few notable upgrades in the pipeline. Beyond Phoenix, major hubs like Houston and Washington, D.C., have started to receive some of these new, state-of-the-art aviation tools. 

The funding package also targets workforce expansion. Specifically, it would supercharge the training and hiring of air traffic controllers by investing in recruitment, retention and advanced training methods. Combined with the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) recent decision to certify Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott as an air traffic controller training site, the hiring pipeline is beginning to strengthen. 

But the job is far from finished. The U.S. is still down thousands of air traffic controllers, and the DOT estimates an additional $19 billion is needed to fully complete the staffing and modernization overhaul. Without the additional funding, facilities risk operating with patchwork fixes — new technology in some locations, but no unified, nationwide system to tie it all together.

Fortunately, air traffic control modernization remains one of the few efforts that commands bipartisan support. Leaders across the political spectrum — from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY — have acknowledged the risks posed by aging control tower technology and the need to upgrade it. Arizona’s congressional delegation has an opportunity to lead in delivering the final resources required to finish the job.

America’s air traffic control network is only as strong as the technology that powers it. Lawmakers in Washington have already taken important steps — but they must finish the job. Fully funding modernization will ensure that American travelers — from Arizona to Florida to New York — can rely on a system built for today’s demands. 

Jackson Shedelbower is executive director of the Center for Transportation Policy.