Air Traffic Facility Replacement

The budget proposal will fund the replacement of 20-25 Air Traffic Control Towers and Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities. It would also improve two Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

Replacing air traffic facilities will enhance the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System by:

• Helping the flying public avoid costly and inconvenient delays.
• Saving taxpayers money by spending less on costly repairs to aging facilities.

Why are facility replacements critical FAA needs?

The FAA oversees more than 350 air traffic control facilities across the nation. This infrastructure includes towers staffed with air traffic controllers (who ensure the safe take-off and landing of aircraft), Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities that guide aircraft as they ascend to and maintain cruising altitudes, and 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, or ARTCCs, that handle high-altitude traffic.

Current funding levels cannot sustain the pace required to support these facilities.  The annual FAA Facilities & Equipment appropriations over the last decade has funded an average of one ATCT/TRACON replacement per year.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law only covers 10 percent of the facilities and does not provide funds for the larger FAA-owned facilities such as ARTCCs.

The condition of our air traffic control facilities and radars continues to worsen as they age. Their materials degrade with time, and their structural integrity weakens. FAA’s air traffic control facilities and systems, built over multiple decades, are in critical need of replacement. With the average age of FAA towers now at 40 years, TRACONs at 27 years, ARTCCs at 62 years, and the majority of radars approaching 40 years - structural deficiencies and maintenance-related issues are becoming more frequent and apparent. Aging facilities add risk to the system, including risk of service disruptions. 

One of the most dramatic examples of what can happen when there is catastrophic damage to an air traffic control facility occurred in 2014 when a fire at Chicago ARTCC caused the facility to close and resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights.

The FAA has identified a candidate list of 52 Tower and TRACON Facilities for replacement. The FAA has a priority ranking process to determine which candidate facility is replaced first based on a variety of factors, including the type, level, tier and age of the facility; their condition; and their replacement’s impact to the overall system. 

List of Candidate Air Traffic Control Towers and TRACON Facilities for Replacement