U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has marked a milestone in the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control overhaul with the installation of the 100th Surface Awareness Initiative system, bringing the programme to nearly half of the 220 airports scheduled to receive it. The surface surveillance tool is now operational at 100 control towers and is being used to track aircraft and vehicles in real time, including in poor weather and when aircraft are out of sight of the tower.
Recent deployments include Ann Arbor Municipal, Billings-Logan, Gulfport-Biloxi, Greenville-Spartanburg and Corpus Christi airports. The FAA plans to install the system at another 44 airports by the end of 2026. Duffy linked the faster rollout to funding from the Working Families Tax Cut Act, while the agency continues to expand surface safety tools and other runway-safety technologies across the national airspace system.