Transportation Secretary Pitches Additional $30 Billion for ATC Upgrades

The new ask would bring BNATCs program spending to $42.5 billion, more than $10 billion over initial estimates.

Zach Vasile

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 04:18 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. (Photo: Department of Transportation)

The Trump administration’s plan to modernize the nation’s aging air traffic control infrastructure will cost more than initially anticipated.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday that the administration will seek an additional $30 billion for the project, on top of $12.5 billion already secured through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law last summer. The DOT initially framed the $12.5 billion as a “down payment” toward a total planned outlay of about $31.5 billion, but it now appears that the federal government will actually need another $30 billion on top of the money already allocated. The new combined figure of $42.5 billion would be more than $10 billion over initial estimates.

Duffy announced the new spending target in a speech before the Aero Club of Washington, according to a report from Reuters. He said the $30 billion would be used to enhance ATC technology, support a common automation platform, upgrade airport terminals, and build new ATC towers.

“If we don’t do it now, when are we going to do it?” Duffy said, according to Aviation International News. “This is a moment in time where we can truly completely revolutionize the systems that we use, the efficiency that we drive, in the NAS. This can change the experience for so many Americans, and it’s a big part of our economy.”

Duffy, the administration’s point man for the modernization project, has frequently reminded reporters and lawmakers that the $12.5 billion approved last year will cover only part of the needed upgrades. His comments Tuesday were the first public sign that the overhaul will cost considerably more than once expected.

The modernization campaign, announced in the spring of 2025 and already underway, will replace outdated infrastructure such as radar, software, hardware, and telecommunications networks. Copper wiring is being replaced with fiber, satellite, and wireless connections, and new digital voice switches, radios, and surveillance systems are being installed at ATC centers and towers.

Industry groups such as the Modern Skies Coalition and the National Business Aviation Association quickly came out in support of Duffy’s remarks, arguing that additional investments will help reduce outages and stabilize the national airspace. The Modern Skies Coalition pointed specifically to Monday’s ATC failure in the Northeast, which canceled and delayed hundreds of flights at New York-JFK, LaGuardia, Philadelphia, and Newark, New Jersey.

“Yesterday’s disruptions to the NAS demonstrate how critical it is to replace the antiquated technology and outdated systems that underpin our nation’s air traffic control infrastructure,” the group said. “The progress made over the past year has shown what is possible when we invest in modernizing the NAS, but there is more work to do.”

Zach Vasile

Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.

Turkish Airlines Orders Up to 150 737 MAX Aircraft

The new jets will strengthen the carrier’s short- and medium-haul networks, officials said.

Zach Vasile

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 02:10 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

A Turkish 737 MAX. (Photo: Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia - Turkish Airlines, TC-LCJ, Boeing 737-8 MAX, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78144499)

Turkish Airlines agreed to purchase 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and secured options for up to 50 more of the type in its largest-ever single-aisle deal with the Virginia-based manufacturer.

Boeing said the airline’s order was finalized this week following discussions that began in 2025. Financial details were not disclosed.

The agreement includes substitution rights for the 737 MAX 10, the largest MAX variant, allowing the carrier to scale up seating capacity if needed.

“This agreement marks another significant step in the continued expansion of our fleet,” Murat Şeker, chairman of the board and the executive committee at Turkish Airlines, said in a statement. “The new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will bring greater efficiency and flexibility to our operations, supporting the extensive network we serve from our hub in Istanbul.”

Turkish Airlines operates a mixed fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Its Boeing subfleet includes the 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner, 777, 737 NextGen, and 777F. Last year, the carrier ordered up to 75 more Dreamliners.

Zach Vasile

Breeze Starts Flights at NJ Airport

Two routes are up and running, and two more will come online soon.

Zach Vasile

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 11:52 AM ET

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Ryan Ewing

A Breeze A220 in Phoenix. (AirlineGeeks - William Derrickson)

Breeze this week launched service to and from a new airport in New Jersey.

On Sunday, the low-cost carrier began nonstop service between Trenton, New Jersey, and Charleston, South Carolina, and one-stop service between Trenton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The route to Fort Lauderdale, branded a “BreezeThru” service, does not require passengers to change aircraft during the stop.

Both connections operate twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays.

Another route from Trenton, to Vero Beach, Florida, will launch Sept. 30. Breeze said flights will initially operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays, then switch to Thursdays and Sundays on Jan. 7, 2027.

Nonstop service to Fort Myers, Florida, will commence Jan. 8, 2027.

Breeze first announced plans to serve Trenton back in June as part of a fall and winter expansion. In October, it will bring two more destinations into its network – Baltimore and Dayton, Ohio.

Zach Vasile

Qantas Adds Its First-Ever Nonstop Service to New York

Flights will begin in 2028 as part of Project Sunrise.

Zach Vasile

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 09:16 AM ET

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Ryan Ewing

An Airbus A350-1000ULR. (Photo: Qantas)

After years of planning, Qantas announced late Tuesday that it will launch the first ever nonstop commercial flights between Australia and New York in mid-2028.

The transpacific connection will shave more than three hours off the total travel time between Sydney and New York compared to currently operating one-stop services, Qantas officials said. Tickets will become available for purchase in August 2027.

Nonstop service to New York has been a long-term goal of Qantas’ Project Sunrise, which aims to link cities on Australia’s east coast with far flung destinations in North America and Europe with a single trip. The carrier announced earlier this year that nonstop flights between Sydney and London will begin in October 2027, but it gave no hints about a New York launch until this week.

Qantas currently connects Sydney and New York-JFK with a stop in Auckland.

Operation Sunrise flights will use a modified, extra-long-range variant of Airbus’ A350 known as the A350-1000ULR. Developed in partnership with Qantas, the 238-seat aircraft contains an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank and can fly up to 22 hours nonstop.

The -1000ULR is currently undergoing flight testing in France. Qantas expects to take delivery of the first production -1000ULR in April 2027. The carrier has ordered 12 of the aircraft in total.

Qantas leaders said the new route will help meet rising demand for travel options between Australia and the U.S.

“Conquering the tyranny of distance has been part of who Qantas is from the very beginning,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a news release. “Reaching New York nonstop completes a vision we set out many years ago, and it’s a moment of enormous pride for the thousands of our people who have been working hard to make Project Sunrise a reality.”

Qantas announced Project Sunrise in 2017. It weighed competing proposals for ultra-long-range aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus before settling on a modified version of the A350. Boeing had offered its 777-8 as the basis for an extended-range model.

Zach Vasile

British Airways to Expand U.S. Route in 2027

The carrier will switch to daily service for parts of the summer.

Zach Vasile

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 03:45 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

A British Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

British Airways is adding frequencies on a U.S. route it launched three years ago.

Starting March 28, 2027, the carrier will operate six flights per week between London Heathrow and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. That cadence will increase to daily service between April 22 and June 24 and again between Sept. 9 and Oct. 28.

British Airways normally operates its London-Cincinnati connection five times weekly during the summer and four times weekly in the winter.

“We’re pleased to be expanding our Cincinnati service to London Heathrow for summer 2027 and are grateful to the airport team, the business development community, and tourism partners for their continued support,” Neil Chernoff, the airline’s chief planning and strategy officer, said in a news release. “With daily flights available for more than four months of the season, customers will benefit from greater choice and flexibility when planning their travel.”

British Airways launched service to Cincinnati in June 2023. It operates the transatlantic route using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The carrier last week rolled out a considerably expanded schedule for the summer of 2027 but did not mention the new flights to Cincinnati until Tuesday. As part of that expansion, service between Heathrow and Las Vegas will grow from 13 flights per week to 14 flights per week.

Zach Vasile

American Named ‘Primary Carrier’ for New Phoenix Terminal

The facility will add gates for international flights.

Zach Vasile

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 01:38 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

An American 777-200 in Phoenix. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

American Airlines will be the anchor tenant at the planned West Terminal at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, city and airport officials announced Monday.

Phoenix’s Aviation Department said it selected American after months of careful analysis. The carrier currently operates from Terminal 4.

First announced two years ago, the West Terminal will add capacity mainly for international flights. The airport’s leaders have said they envision the terminal as Phoenix’s “front door” for growing international traffic. It will also be the first new terminal at Phoenix since Terminal 4 opened in 1990.

The facility is still in its planning stages; no designs have been released, and the terminal’s exact number of gates is still being worked out.

American is already the largest airline at Phoenix by passenger traffic, accounting for over 40%.

“Phoenix is a critical part of American’s network and we’re excited to continue to invest in the airport and this region’s future,” American CEO Robert Isom said in a news release. “We are proud to partner with the City of Phoenix and Sky Harbor on a vision that will support continued growth, create jobs, strengthen global connectivity, and deliver an even better experience for our customers with much-needed new premium spaces.”

Airport officials said a procurement process for the West Terminal is expected to begin next year. Construction could potentially begin in late 2029, they added, with an opening in late 2033.

The project will be funded with passenger facility charges, bonds, and airport funding; no local tax dollars will be used.

Zach Vasile

Delta Drops Two Routes

The airline will end one route in January, while another will not return next year.

Ryan Ewing

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 10:39 AM ET

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Zach Vasile

A Delta Airbus A321neo. (Photo: Shutterstock | Robin Guess)

Delta is removing two routes from its network as part of its latest schedule adjustments, citing customer demand.

The airline will suspend service between New York-JFK and Dallas/Fort Worth beginning Jan. 4, 2027. Delta is also dropping its seasonal route between Seattle and Philadelphia, which will operate once daily through Nov. 30, 2026, but will not resume in 2027.

Both changes were added to Delta’s schedule on Sept. 19.

“Starting Jan. 4, 2027, Delta will suspend service between New York-JFK and Dallas-Fort Worth as part of ongoing adjustments to ensure our schedule is aligned with customer demand,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement.

Delta will continue serving the New York–Dallas market with five daily flights between LaGuardia and Dallas/Fort Worth.

In Seattle, Delta said it will continue serving the market’s top 20 destinations. The carrier also plans to launch service between Los Angeles and Philadelphia in 2027.

Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com in February 2013 and has spent more than a decade covering the airline business. His work has been featured by CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. His aviation experience spans airport operations, Part 135 regulatory compliance, and airline crew workforce planning, along with time behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 and interviews with airline executives. Ryan now serves as Group President of Firecrown Media’s Aviation Group. He holds a B.S. in Air Transportation Management and an MBA from Arizona State University and teaches Airline Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Flights Resume After ATC Outage, But Delays Expected to Linger

A severed telecom line was repaired Monday evening.

Zach Vasile

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 09:08 AM ET

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Ryan Ewing

United Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner at the gate in Newark. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Tom Pallini)

The flow of air traffic in the Northeast is returning to normal after a massive ATC outage on Monday, but disruptions could linger as the recovery continues.

Ground stops were lifted at New York-JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and two smaller New York-area airports Monday evening, allowing hours-long delays to gradually clear.

By midnight on Monday, 8,400 flights into, out of, or within the U.S. had been delayed, and 1,141 were canceled, according to data from tracking website FlightAware. While not all of the cancellations and delays were linked directly to the outage, a substantial number came from the New York and Philadelphia metro areas, with knock-on effects evident in markets such as Boston.

The meltdown began around 1:30 p.m. Monday when a telecommunications circuit at the Philadelphia TRACON failed. The FAA then discovered that a critical backup line in New Jersey had been accidentally cut by an Amtrak construction crew.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced around 6 p.m. Monday that the cable had been repaired, allowing flights to resume. He cautioned that it could take some time for delays to clear and advised travelers to check the status of their flight with their airline.

Earlier in the day, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters that the circuit that failed is one of the older L3 Verizon circuits that his agency is currently in the process of replacing. He said the incident underscored the importance of continuing the FAA’s ATC modernization drive.

Data from FlightAware showed a relatively small number of cancellations and delays at Newark, Philadelphia, and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on Tuesday morning.

Zach Vasile

ATC Outage Cancels, Delays Hundreds of Flights on East Coast

Flights were grounded at JFK, Newark, LaGuardia, and Philadelphia.

Zach Vasile

Monday, September 21, 2026 at 04:38 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

Runway at Newark Liberty International Airport. (Photo: Shutterstock | EQRoy)

Flights were halted at several major Northeast airports Monday after a series of technology failures.

Officials said a telecommunications circuit at a facility overseeing Philadelphia International Airport failed Monday afternoon, leading to the discovery that a critical backup fiber line in New Jersey had been accidentally cut. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that an Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut through the cable.

The issue forced ground stops at some of the nation’s busiest airports, including New York-JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed, and the massive disruption quickly caused backups at other airports in the region, including Boston.

As of 4 p.m., almost 5,000 flights into, out of, or within the U.S. had been delayed and over 800 were canceled, though not all were directly connected to the outage. The problem was most acute at Newark, where almost half of all flights scheduled for Monday were canceled.

Duffy said around 3 p.m. that flights were resuming at Philadelphia and LaGuardia, while flights into JFK, Newark, and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey remained paused.

The FAA is encouraging travelers to check the status of their flight with their airline.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters that the initial circuit that failed is one of the old L3 Verizon circuits that his agency is currently in the process of replacing as part of a broader multibillion-dollar ATC modernization push. He confirmed that the outage took place at the Philadelphia TRACON.

The construction accident damaged about 600 feet of fiber between Brunswick, New Jersey, and Newark, Bedford said. The accident happened Monday but wasn’t noticed until the circuit failure in Philadelphia.

It will likely take around 13 hours to fix the cable, Bedford added, calling the coming repair “massive.”

Zach Vasile

A4A Opposes Extra Air China Flights As Xi Visit Nears

One of the added flights, to New York, took place Saturday; the other, to Washington, D.C., is scheduled for Friday.

Zach Vasile

Monday, September 21, 2026 at 03:45 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

An Air China Boeing 787-9 in Los Angeles. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Major U.S. airlines are raising concerns about Air China’s plan to add two flights to the U.S. East Coast ahead of and following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, D.C.

Airlines for America on Thursday filed a formal objection to the flights, arguing they should not be permitted under Part 213. Allowing the flights could set a precedent that would allow Air China to incrementally increase U.S. service beyond carefully set limits, the trade group said.

Air China said it added the two transpacific flights – from Beijing to New York-JFK and Washington Dulles – to “support travel related to high-level meetings taking place in the United States.”

Xi is expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, attend a state dinner at the White House on Thursday, and depart via Andrews on Friday.

Allowing Air China to operate additional flights under Part 213 would reinforce the advantage Chinese airlines enjoy in transpacific operations due to their use of Russian airspace, A4A said. U.S. airlines cannot use Russian airspace, making it essentially impossible for them to connect cities on the U.S. East Coast with major Chinese destinations.

“By granting the authority requested here, the U.S. government will be enhancing Chinese airlines’ already exclusive ability to operate nonstop in certain important U.S. markets to the competitive detriment of U.S. airline companies, workers, and communities,” the filing states.

If Air China sees a need for temporary extra capacity, it should look at charter operations under Part 212, A4A said.

The trade group asked the DOT for “expedited treatment” of its objection, but that did not stop the extra flight to and from JFK, which took place Saturday. The second extra flight, to and from Dulles, is scheduled for Friday.

A4A said it made its objection on behalf of members Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and Air Canada. The organization’s cargo members, specifically FedEx, Atlas Air, and UPS, did not participate.

Zach Vasile