The Biden-Harris Administration on March 11 released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget request to Congress. The budget will build on the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety priorities by allowing the agency to hire more air traffic controllers, modernize the nation’s infrastructure, and strengthen the agency’s safety oversight.
“Our number one priority is safety. This budget will provide the FAA with the necessary resources to continue our essential safety work,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. “It supports our efforts to increase air traffic controller hiring, modernize aging air traffic facilities, and enhance our safety oversight.”
The budget provides $43 million to accelerate the hiring and training of air traffic controllers, which will help the agency meet the goal of hiring 2,000 new controllers in 2025. Last year, the FAA surpassed its goal of hiring 1,500 new controllers and is on track to hire 1,800 in 2024.
The FAA is taking aggressive action to expand the controller pipeline to meet the nation’s air traffic demands. These programs include year-round hiring for experienced controllers from the military and private industry, enhancing the Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative to hire more candidates who can begin facility training immediately upon graduation, filling every seat at the FAA Academy, and deploying upgraded tower simulator systems.
The budget also provides a major investment in the safety and resiliency of air traffic facilities and equipment, building on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding used to improve airport infrastructure and FAA facilities across the U.S.
The budget includes a new Facility Replacement and Radar Modernization proposal that dedicates $8 billion over the next five years — beginning with $1 billion in 2025 — to replace or modernize aging air traffic control facilities. This includes modernizing 377 critical radar systems and more than 20 air traffic control facilities.
This recapitalization program provides a more reliable and stable funding source to ensure the national airspace system remains the safest and most efficient in the world.
The budget also includes $1.8 billion for the Office of Aviation Safety to support production oversight and continued operational safety. The FAA took decisive actions after the January 5 Boeing 737-9 incident to bolster its oversight activities and the proposed FY25 budget boosts the FAA’s resources for continuous safety improvement.
