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 internet 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 do not see risks to air travel safety because of the 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, New Jersey, and in Alaska. The White House referred a request for comment to the FAA.
The FAA “has been considering the use of Starlink since the prior administration to increase reliability at remote 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 close to canceling a contract with Verizon for new communication technology for air traffic control and giving it instead 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 statement that “the FAA systems currently in place are run by L3Harris and not Verizon.” He later corrected himself and said that L3Harris is responsible for the “rapidly declining” system.
L3Harris didn’t immediately return request for comment.
Verizon said it is working on replacing older air traffic control technology.
“Our Company is working on building the next generation system for the FAA which will support the Agency’s mission for safe and secure air travel,” Verizon said in its statement. “We are at the beginning of a multi-year contract to replace antiquated, legacy systems. Our teams have been working with the FAA’s technology teams and our solution stands ready to be deployed. We continue to partner with the FAA on achieving its modernization objectives.”
Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some Democrat lawmakers have raised concerns about Musk’s role in the Trump administration while also potentially working to provide technology to 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 in 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 hundreds of FAA employees, though they do not include air traffic controllers.
“At a minimum, we need to know why this sudden reduction was necessary, what type of work these employees were doing, and what kind of analysis FAA conducted – if any – to ensure this would not adversely impact safety, increase flight delays or harm FAA operations,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., wrote to Rocheleau on Feb. 19.
The FAA has said it has retained staff “who perform safety critical functions. The FAA does not comment on ongoing certification work.”
Airlines for years have pushed for air traffic modernization. Carriers have long complained about how older systems have not kept up with the industry’s needs, leading to flight delays that cost both passengers and carriers. Air travel demand hit records after the pandemic.
“Carriers have made remarkable changes and significant investments in technologies, operations, product and people,” Airlines for America, which represents major U.S. carriers, said Thursday. “The government needs to do the same 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 two aircraft. It ended an unprecedented period of air travel safety in the U.S., marking the first fatal passenger airline crash in the country since 2009 and the deadliest since 2001.
Last week, more than a dozen aviation industry groups and labor unions, urged lawmakers to approve “emergency funding” for air traffic control modernization and staffing.
