An Air Traffic Controller Walks Into a Radio Studio …

What does it take to “play 3D chess at 250 miles an hour”? And how far will $12.5 billion of “Big, Beautiful” funding go toward modernizing the F.A.A.? (Part two of a two-part series.)

Discussion

The best layperson-friendly discussion of air traffic control we've yet heard, from industry, FAA and most importantly 'the person in the chair'. For airport communities, it makes clear why the system, despite all the recent bad press, is so easy to fix. Spoiler alert: all it takes is money. When the US airline industry was de-regulated in 1978, consumers loved the lower fares, Now, they face a galaxy of ticket fees - many of which are really taxes to fund the system. As with health care, the US pays more and gets less. If ticket prices are raised to the level the airlines need to move more flights, what will that do to demand? In the end, the expansion of airports like Sea-Tac may come down to factors such as climate change and the economics of providing ATC, as much as building new gates.