An American Airlines Airbus A319 airplane takes off past the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, January 11, 2023
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Elon Musk said Thursday that he’s sending his Starlink satellite web terminals to the Federal Aviation Administration while saying, without providing evidence, that current technology poses a risk to air travel safety.
The billionaire and top advisor to President Donald Trump, who has been tasked with cutting costs throughout the federal government, posted the claims on his social media platform, X.
Executives at major airlines told CNBC on Thursday that they don’t see risks to air travel safety due to FAA’s technology.
The FAA, which regulates Musk’s company SpaceX, didn’t immediately comment but earlier this week said it has been testing Starlink technology in Atlantic City, Latest Jersey, and in Alaska. The White House referred a request for comment to the FAA.
The FAA “has been considering the usage of Starlink for the reason that prior administration to extend reliability at distant sites, including in Alaska,” the agency said Monday. “This week, the FAA is testing one terminal at its facility in Atlantic City and two terminals at non-safety critical sites in Alaska.”
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the FAA is near canceling a contract with Verizon for brand spanking new communication technology for air traffic control and giving it as a substitute to Musk’s Starlink.
Musk said Thursday on X: a “Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly.” Verizon said in a press release that “the FAA systems currently in place are run by L3Harris and never Verizon.” He later corrected himself and said that L3Harris is accountable for the “rapidly declining” system.
L3Harris didn’t immediately return request for comment.
Verizon said it’s working on replacing older air traffic control technology.
“Our Company is working on constructing the following generation system for the FAA which can support the Agency’s mission for secure and secure air travel,” Verizon said in its statement. “We’re firstly of a multi-year contract to interchange antiquated, legacy systems. Our teams have been working with the FAA’s technology teams and our solution stands able to be deployed. We proceed to partner with the FAA on achieving its modernization objectives.”
Musk didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Some Democrat lawmakers have raised concerns about Musk’s role within the Trump administration while also potentially working to offer technology to certainly one of his regulators.
“While I support efforts to modernize our air traffic control system and improve aviation safety, this decision raises conflicts-of-interest concerns, given Elon Musk’s dual position as Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and wide-ranging role within the Trump administration,” wrote Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., to Chris Rocheleau, acting head of the FAA, on Wednesday.
Others have raised alarms after the Trump administration laid off a whole bunch of FAA employees, though they don’t include air traffic controllers.
“At a minimum, we’d like to know why this sudden reduction was needed, what sort of work these employees were doing, and how much evaluation FAA conducted – if any – to make sure this might not adversely impact safety, increase flight delays or harm FAA operations,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Sick., wrote to Rocheleau on Feb. 19.
The FAA has said it has retained staff “who perform safety critical functions. The FAA doesn’t comment on ongoing certification work.”
Airlines for years have pushed for air traffic modernization. Carriers have long complained about how older systems haven’t kept up with the industry’s needs, resulting in flight delays that cost each passengers and carriers. Air travel demand hit records after the pandemic.
“Carriers have made remarkable changes and significant investments in technologies, operations, product and other people,” Airlines for America, which represents major U.S. carriers, said Thursday. “The federal government must do the identical in an organized and timely way.”
Musk’s comments on air safety failures, which didn’t include evidence, come after last month’s fatal collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, killing all 67 people on board the 2 aircraft. It ended an unprecedented period of air travel safety within the U.S., marking the primary fatal passenger airline crash within the country since 2009 and the deadliest since 2001.
Last week, greater than a dozen aviation industry groups and labor unions, urged lawmakers to approve “emergency funding” for air traffic control modernization and staffing.
