U.S. Senator Issues Chilling 'Warning' About Air Travel
Delays, tragic accidents and other issues have plagued the American air travel industry in 2025, and one U.S. senator is urging Congress to take immediate action.
On Wednesday, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) spoke to FOX News Digital regarding the issues and problems related to air travel.
"What we need to do is we need to preemptively address challenges before they become tragedies," Sullivan said, acknowledging an accident in his own state that killed 10 people earlier this year.
A plane crashed into the Norton Sound back in February while attempt to travel from Unalakleet to Nome.
Sullivan said that he visited the FAA's air traffic control hub in Anchorage, and found that outdated technology like floppy disks were still in use to assist with tracking flights.
"What we don't want, unfortunately – it's happened – is have a big crash and tragedy as the thing that inspires change," Sullivan added.
"I watched this: Hiring people for the FAA in terms of air traffic controllers is competitive. It requires real schooling. It requires high performance. And the Biden team came in, and I guess in the name of diversity… they started taking people off the street literally with no background in any of this. We’ve got to get back to the rigorous FAA standards."
Sullivan added that he and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will be working on sweeping reform for the air travel industry, and that the first steps of that reform would go into effect over the next few weeks and months.
Liberty National Airport in Newark, NJ has been an example of how bad things can get at one location. The airport has experienced widespread delays after a malfunction with the Philadelphia-based air traffic control center.
Controllers were unable to see, hear or communicate with planes for several minutes, forcing pilots to fly blind into an understaffed airport with one free runway.
Many controllers took union-approved leave after the software and visibility issue, leading to a shortage of trained air traffic controllers.
Earlier this week, Duffy noted that there is a pipeline of potential controllers in the Philadelphia area that are signed up for the required classes through next year.
We'll see if Newark and some of the other major airports around the country heed Sullilvan's warning after a series of tragic and fatal accidents.