By Kris Van Cleave
Updated on: April 21, 2026 / 8:20 PM EDT / CBS News
As the Department of Transportation begins overhauling the country’s air traffic control system — a multibillion-dollar effort — there are plans to integrate artificial intelligence in the future. Addressing fears that AI will fully replace air traffic controllers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CBS News, “that’s not gonna happen.”
“AI is a tool, but we do not replace humans in how we manage the airspace,” Duffy said. “Am I gonna replace a controller and have AI manage the airspace? The answer to that is hell no, that’s not gonna happen.”
Duffy said AI will help controllers reduce delays by merging airline flight schedules with an FAA system to identify conflicts in advance. “This software will say, ‘Well, listen, we can see this 45 days out. Let’s move some of those flights a little bit later, or five, seven, 10 minutes earlier, and we can resolve the issue. And so then you are not delayed,'” he said.
Last year’s “Big Beautiful Bill” gave DOT $12.5 billion for air traffic control upgrades. The department says it has already replaced nearly 50% of copper wiring, upgraded about 270 radio sites, installed new surface awareness systems at 54 airports to improve ground tracking, and transitioned 17 towers to electronic flight strips, replacing paper slips.
Congress still must fund the AI software, which has an estimated cost of $6 billion to $10 billion. The push for new tools comes after several high-profile incidents involving apparent air traffic control errors, including last month’s deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.
“We have human beings navigating, managing the airspace, and as human beings, we can make mistakes,” Duffy said. “That’s why I want to give additional tools to support the air traffic controllers.”