Industry Insights
A4A Leadership Participates in ATCA Aviation Innovation Summit
February 25, 2026
Airlines for America (A4A) was proud to participate in ATCA’s Aviation Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C. last week. The forum brought together individuals across the aviation industry to discuss the Trump Administration’s air traffic control (ATC) modernization efforts.
A4A President and CEO Chris Sununu participated in a panel titled, “From Innovation to Dominance: How the U.S. Will Lead the Next Aviation Revolution.”
Sununu called the Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) program “the overhaul of overhauls,” saying, “This has not been done in twenty to thirty years, and administration after administration just kicked the can and did absolutely nothing on this kind of stuff. So, the fact that the Trump Administration is doing something, they’re thinking innovatively, I think that’s the most exciting part. There’s just so much potential there.”
President Trump and Secretary Duffy successfully secured $12.5 billion downpayment to modernize the U.S. ATC system. That work is currently underway and will ensure the nation remains the gold standard of aviation safety.
“I have never seen a Secretary of Transportation has committed to building a new air traffic control system as Secretary Duffy,” said A4A’s Senior Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Sharon Pinkerton during a panel titled, “Operational Excellence: Setting the Foundation for BNATCS.”
Pinkerton heads up the Modern Skies Coalition, a group comprised of more than 50 aviation organizations across industry, government and labor all united in the goal to overhaul the U.S. ATC system.
“We’re all together in this Modern Skies Coalition, and we’ve been able to stay together for over a year and a half now, putting in some serious proposals and ideas to the Senate Commerce Committee and House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and we’re committed to continuing that work,” Pinkerton said. “We’re actually seeing real results.”
Modernizing the system will be a boon to U.S. airlines and the traveling public. It will improve operational efficiency and resiliency while also bolstering safety. A4A’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Safety Paul Rinaldi stressed that further investment will be needed to ensure the project is completed and it’s an imperative for our country’s economy.
“Our system needs stable, predictable funding to advance and modernize, not just once, but continuously,” Rinaldi said during the “The Future of Aviation: Collaboration, Culture, and the Courage to Change” panel. “We have to fund this system because it’s an economic engine. It’s a jobs machine for our country. It’s 5 percent of our GDP. We have to keep it growing.”