Nov. 20, 2025
At a Washington, DC industry forum held Nov. 19, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen was joined by two congressional aviation champions in underscoring the breadth and depth of support among government and industry leaders in building a brand-new air traffic control (ATC) system.
“The ATC modernization effort today is different than those of the past – more specific, more focused,” Bolen said in opening remarks for a panel he moderated with House Transportation & Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee Chair Troy Nehls (R-22-TX) and Rep. Sharice Davids (D-3-KS).
“The support for modernization this time is different in terms of the level of funding investment,” Bolen continued. “We have support from both sides of the aisle, on both sides of Capitol Hill. Sixty associations are working together, and there is clear leadership from the president on down.”
View Bolen’s panel discussion at the summit.
In May, NBAA and a host of other aviation groups united to form the Modern Skies Coalition, advocating for significant investment in a brand-new ATC system. Congress provided $12.5 billion for a down payment toward ATC modernization in a budget bill approved in July.
During Bolen’s discussion with Nehls and Davids, convened as part of the 2025 American Aviation Leadership Summit hosted by Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, Bolen underscored the need to identify and deploy technology to make aviation smarter, safer and more sustainable than ever before.
He applauded the lawmakers for convening a series of roundtables to get industry’s view on the best investments in technology and other considerations for advancing U.S. aviation.
Davids said the roundtables are intended to “make sure that we’re not creating more problems than we’re solving. The only way to do that is to break down the silos, to get government and industry stakeholders in the room at the same time,” she added. “We have spent too long, with too many silos – with too many unintended consequences – because no one was talking to each other.”
Nehls agreed, and welcomed new legislation to ensure the FAA remains funded and air traffic controllers are paid, even if there is a government shutdown.
Also present at the summit were Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. Duffy said the goal in modernizing ATC is to have a new system in place by the end of 2028. He urged industry to give the administration feedback on regulatory changes that will help accelerate innovation.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.