The Air Traffic Control Tower is located at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
Saul Roeve | AFP | Getty Images
Elon Musk on Thursday sent the Starlink Satellite Internet terminal to the Federal Aviation Administration, but without providing evidence, he said current technology is taking risks to the safety of air travel.
President Donald Trump’s billionaire and top advisors, who are tasked with cutting costs across the federal government, have posted bills on his social media platform X.
An executive from a major airline told CNBC on Thursday that there was no risk to air travel safety due to FAA technology.
The FAA, which regulates Musk’s company SpaceX, did not immediately comment, but said earlier this week it was testing Starlink technology in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Alaska. The White House presented a request for comment to the FAA.
The FAA “is considering using Starlink since its previous management to increase reliability in remote locations, including Alaska,” the agency said Monday. “This week, the FAA is testing one terminal at its Atlantic City facility and two terminals at its unsafe critical sites in Alaska.”
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the FAA had cancelled its contract with Verizon for new communications technology for air traffic control and was approaching to giving it to Musk’s Starlink instead.
Musk said on X on Thursday: “The Verizon communications system to air traffic control is falling apart very quickly.” “The FAA system currently deployed is run by L3Harris, not Verizon.” Verizon said in a statement. He later corrected himself, saying that L3Harris was the head of a “quickly decreasing” system.
l3harris did not immediately return a request for comment.
Verizon said he is working on replacing old air traffic control technologies.
“We are committed to creating next-generation FAA systems that support the agency’s mission for safe and secure air travel,” Verizon said in a statement. “We are beginning a multi-year agreement to replace outdated legacy systems. Our team is working with the FAA technology team and ready to deploy our solutions.
Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Some Democrats have raised concerns about masks’ role in the Trump administration, but are potentially working to provide technology to one of his regulators.
“While we support efforts to modernize the air traffic control system and improve aviation safety, this decision raises Interest concerns given Elon Musk’s dual position as SpaceX’s CEO and broad role in the Trump administration,” D-Mass said.
Others raised alarms after the Trump administration fired hundreds of FAA employees, but air traffic controllers aren’t included.
“At least we need to know why this sudden cut is needed, what kind of work these employees were doing, and what analysis the FAA has done.
The FAA says it has staff that “people who perform critical safety functions. The FAA has not commented on the ongoing authentication work.”
For years, airlines have sought to modernize air traffic. Careers have long complained about the old systems not keeping up to the needs of the industry. The demand for air travel has hit post-pandemic records.
“Airlines have made significant changes and significant investments in technology, operations, products and people,” the US airline, which represents the major US airlines, said Thursday. “The government needs to do the same in an organized and timely manner.”
Musk’s comments on aviation safety disorders that do not include evidence came after a fatal collision between an American Airlines regional jet and the Army Black Hawk helicopter last month, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft. The US has ended unprecedented air travel safety, marking the country’s first deadly crash drop since 2009, the deadliest since 2001.
Last week, more than a dozen aviation industry groups and unions urged lawmakers to approve “emergency funds” for modernising and staffing air traffic control.
