Senator Ted Cruz is sounding the alarm about America’s broken air traffic control system. During a Senate hearing, Cruz slammed the Federal Aviation Administration for using outdated technology that puts lives at risk. He called it unacceptable that our skies are managed with systems older than most grandparents.
Plane crashes and near-misses have skyrocketed in recent years. Experts say air traffic controllers still use paper slips to track flights—technology from the 1950s! Other countries use modern computers and satellites, but America lags behind. This week’s deadly crash near Washington D.C., where a passenger jet hit an Army helicopter, shows how dangerous this failure is.
President Trump blasted the FAA’s “obsolete” systems and vowed to replace them. He announced Elon Musk’s team will help upgrade air traffic control with cutting-edge tech. Conservatives cheered the move, saying private innovation can fix government messes. “Elon Musk builds rockets—he can drag the FAA out of the Stone Age,” one lawmaker said.
Democrats and their media allies attacked Trump’s plan, claiming Musk is “too risky.” But Senator Cruz fired back: “The real risk is letting woke bureaucrats mismanage our airways.” He praised Musk’s success with SpaceX and Tesla, arguing safety will improve under skilled leaders who value merit over politics.
The FAA’s hiring scandals made things worse. Reports show they prioritized diversity quotas over qualifications when picking air traffic controllers. Critics say this put unready workers in critical jobs. After the D.C. crash, Trump ordered an end to race-based hiring in aviation. “Safety shouldn’t be sacrificed for woke checkboxes,” Cruz declared.
Fixing air traffic control isn’t just about technology—it’s about leadership. For decades, Congress threw taxpayer money at the problem without results. Cruz wants to break the cycle by handing control to experts outside government red tape. “Let’s stop letting politicians play flight simulator with our lives,” he argued.
Everyday Americans pay the price for these failures. Flight delays cost billions yearly. Families worry if their plane will land safely. Conservatives say it’s time to ground the bureaucracy and put passengers first. “Our skies should be the safest in the world, not a laughingstock,” Cruz said.
The choice is clear: Stick with failing big-government systems or embrace American brilliance. With Trump and Musk teaming up, there’s hope ahead. As Cruz put it, “Let’s make flying safe again—no more excuses.”
