Aviation affects nearly every single Alaskan. Only 22% of our state is connected to a road system. The rest of our communities, especially in rural areas, rely on aviation for their groceries, for their mail, or to transport patients in medical emergencies. From bush pilots in Nome to air traffic controllers in Anchorage, our skies are the critical infrastructure that remains a hallmark of everyday life in Alaska. Air safety is deeply personal, and it’s why I’ve made it a top priority in Congress.
In October 1972, my grandfather, Rep. Nick Begich Sr., disappeared aboard a twin-engine Cessna 310 flying from Anchorage to Juneau. Despite one of the largest search efforts in American history, the aircraft and its four occupants were never found. The tragedy changed my family forever. It also exposed critical gaps in aviation safety at the time — gaps that, tragically, still persist in too many parts of our airspace system today.
America was once the gold standard in aviation technology. But over the past two decades, our infrastructure has stagnated while the demands on our system have only grown. Today, the Federal Aviation Administration employs 2,300 fewer certified air traffic controllers than needed. Controllers are being asked to do more with less — working mandatory overtime, managing increasingly congested airspace, and doing so with outdated radar and voice systems that in some cases predate the internet.
I recently introduced the bipartisan Air Traffic Control Workforce Development Act of 2025, legislation that invests in the people who make our skies safe. This bill improves recruitment and retention incentives, enhances mental health support, funds state-of-the-art tower simulators, and strengthens the training pipeline for new controllers. It is backed by industry leaders and labor organizations alike and is the House companion to Senate legislation introduced earlier this year.
But fixing the staffing shortage is just one part of the broader modernization challenge. We also need a 21st-century air traffic control system, one that uses fiber optics, satellite technology, and real-time data to give pilots and controllers the tools they need to make faster, smarter, and safer decisions.
The Don Young Alaska Aviation Safety Initiative, which recently delivered $25 million in critical improvements to our aviation infrastructure, is a strong example of what partnership between Congress and the FAA can achieve. As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I worked with committee leadership to include $260 million for the Don Young Alaska Aviation Safety Initiative in the committee’s budget reconciliation proposal. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to pass this proposal out of Congress and to the president’s desk.
President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently laid out a plan to overhaul our air traffic control system. Their initiative calls for upgrading more than 4,600 air traffic sites with cutting-edge communications and radar equipment; replacing towers and Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities with modern, standardized platforms; and building six new coordination centers for the first time in over 60 years. It’s a long-overdue investment that I fully support.
I commend the administration for its focus on aviation safety, and I look forward to working with Trump and Duffy as a member of the House Subcommittee on Aviation to ensure Alaska and rural America are not left behind in this transformation.
The risks of delay are real, and they are growing. Without immediate action, overworked air traffic controllers will continue to manage increasing traffic with aging equipment. Fatigue and staffing shortages will heighten the risk of near misses. Our nation, home to some of the busiest and most complex airspace in the world, deserves better.
Upgrading our aviation system will greatly reduce flight delays and improve efficiency, but more than that, it will save lives. No family should have to experience the kind of loss mine did over 50 years ago due to an aviation-related tragedy.
FAA RESTRICTS FLIGHTS TO NEWARK AFTER RADAR OUTAGES AND STAFFING SHORTAGES
America is still a beacon of innovation. We lead the world in so many fields: energy, space, medicine, technology, etc. There is no reason why we cannot lead in aviation once again. But leadership requires investment, vision, and political will.
Let’s train the next generation of air traffic controllers, modernize our infrastructure, and bring air safety into the 21st century. The skies over Alaska and across our nation deserve nothing less.
Nick Begich represents Alaska’s At-Large Congressional District in the House of Representatives and serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation.