Modern Skies proposal puts terminals and air-traffic technology in the same funding package
The September 28 proposal would add roughly $30 billion across air-traffic control and airport programs. It remains proposed funding.
A federal aviation proposal unveiled September 28, 2026, would combine new spending on air-traffic-control technology with airport terminal and tower improvements. The Modern Skies Act would create several distinct funding channels rather than a single nationwide construction award.
The Department of Transportation welcomed the proposal as an additional roughly $30 billion investment. The distinction between a proposal and an appropriation is essential: the announcement does not mean airports have received this money.
Three different delivery programs
Senator Eric Schmitt’s detailed summary identifies $10.1 billion for a further phase of air-traffic-control modernization, building on $12.5 billion previously provided by Congress. Proposed work includes facility consolidation, common automation and controller workstations, telecommunications and cloud infrastructure.
A separate $10 billion pilot would support terminal modernization or replacement at up to three medium-hub airports. Another $10 billion would be divided among towers and related facilities, discretionary Airport Improvement Program projects and terminal modernization: $2 billion, $3 billion and $5 billion respectively.
The proposal also would permit transfers among parts of the previously funded air-traffic-control program, with reporting to Congress. The announcement does not identify the three pilot airports.
Buildings and systems have different milestones
The package places visible airport construction beside a less visible integration task. A terminal project has a physical site and passenger facilities to deliver. National air-traffic technology also has to work across facilities, communications networks and controller environments.
That difference matters for measuring progress. An announced terminal allocation would not demonstrate that a national automation platform is ready, while completion of a technology contract would not establish that a terminal can accept passengers. Each program would need its own implementation and acceptance milestones.
The pilot’s narrow number of eligible selections also separates it from the wider airport programs. The proposed three-airport effort should not be read as a guarantee of support for every medium-hub terminal project.
At this stage, the next decisive step is legislative action. Selection rules, implementation schedules and individual awards would provide the information airport owners and suppliers need to translate the proposal into specific opportunities.
The figures above describe the September 28 summaries. No construction start, selected pilot airport or new grant award is inferred from the introduction of the legislation.
Sources reviewed September 29, 2026. Representative airport photograph, December 2024. Photo: Alexis Doine, CC0 1.0. Unaltered original; display sizes may be resized or cropped.
