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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s Federal Aviation\nAdministration (FAA) has started investing the first $1 billion of $5 billion\ninto the country\u2019s air traffic control system. The funding \u2014 made possible\nthrough President Biden\u2019s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law \u2014 will sustain, repair\nor replace hundreds of buildings and pieces of equipment that make flying in\nthe United States the safest in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAir traffic control facilities are the nerve centers of our\nairspace system, and a big part of the reason why flying is the safest mode of\ntransportation,\u201d said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. \u201cThe\nBipartisan Infrastructure Law will repair, replace and modernize the\ninfrastructure that our air traffic control system relies on to keep the\ntraveling public safe for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FAA controls more than 5 million square miles of\nairspace in the U.S. and more than 24 million square miles over oceans. The air\ntraffic system includes hundreds of towers at airports and terminal approach\ncontrol facilities, which provide air traffic services to aircraft approaching\nand leaving busy airspace. It also includes 22 centers handling aircraft at high\naltitudes. These facilities depend on power systems, navigation and weather\nequipment, and radar and surveillance systems across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a great deal of work needed to reduce the backlog\nof sustainment work, upgrades and replacement of buildings and equipment needed\nto operate our nation\u2019s airspace safely. We are going to make sure small and\ndisadvantaged businesses owned by women and minorities have the chance to do\nthis work so we can expand jobs and opportunities across the country,\u201d said FAA\nDeputy Administrator A. Bradley Mims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n