NATCA President Nick Daniels Presses Air Traffic Controller Priorities with National Media

This week, NATCA President Nick Daniels gave interviews to several aviation reporters from different national media organizations, including National Public Radio (NPR) Transportation Correspondent Joel Rose, Fox Business Correspondent Grady Trimble, Fox News’ Fox & Friends Host Brian Kilmeade, ABC News Transportation Correspondent Sam Sweeney, and CNN Aviation and Transportation Correspondent Pete Muntean to highlight the priorities of our Union members.

During these interviews, Daniels answered questions about how communication outages and staffing issues at Philadelphia TRACON (PHL) Area C have affected NATCA members and led to flight delays at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

Daniels also expressed support for Transportation Secretary Duffy’s initiative to “supercharge” controller hiring and his comprehensive plan to fund and prioritize the replacement and repair of air traffic control facilities and modernize outdated technology.

In his interview on Fox & Friends on Tues., May 20, Daniels described how NATCA is working with the Trump Administration, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Congress, and a coalition of aviation stakeholders to maintain safety and modernize our air traffic control system. 

When Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade asked about the price tag for fixing the system, Daniels explained how NATCA is working with Secretary Duffy and Congress to determine the cost of updating the system and preventing communication outages. Daniels stated, “The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee came up with a $12.5 billion dollar proposal, and we absolutely support that. We are part of the Modern Skies Coalition to ensure that not only is this price tag real, but that it produces the results that the American flying public deserves.”

When Kilmeade asked what Americans do in the interim while these solutions are being put in place, Daniels continued, “This isn’t a time to point to problems, this is a time to point to solutions. Working and partnering together… Making sure the flying public knows what areas may be slowed down and what areas are going to continue [to operate as normal]. 99.9% of your flights are going to arrive and depart on time.”

Watch the full Fox & Friends interview below.

NATCA will share recordings of these other news stories when they are available.