# What's the potential for automating air traffic control?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-potential-for-automating-air-traffic-control/1032927>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 9, 2026, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-potential-for-automating-air-traffic-control/1032927 "2026-09-09T08:10:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-potential-for-automating-air-traffic-control/1032927/21 "2026-09-13T02:38:37Z")

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> [@Spiderman](#):
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> a) a lot of airports need all of those built in redundancies & that will cost a lot of money. For example, the March ARFF truck crash at EWR may have been prevented if the apparatus had a transponder in it; because it didn’t, it was invisible to the automated systems.

I think I just read that Newark will install transponders in all vehicles that traverse the air traffic ways. Yes, at considerable expense.

One reason for a system as envisioned by the OP is that there is a fairly severe shortage of air traffic controllers and training new ones takes a long time. In other words, the problem is time and money.

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**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-potential-for-automating-air-traffic-control/1032927/22 "2026-09-13T12:38:55Z")

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> [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
>
> think I just read that Newark will install transponders in all vehicles that traverse the air traffic ways. Yes, at considerable expense

EWR is one of the bigger ones & they didn’t have all of the safety equipment, it’s probably worse at some of the medium sized ones; especially with the plethora of different airport authorities out there.

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**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-potential-for-automating-air-traffic-control/1032927/23 "2026-09-13T19:22:28Z")

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AIUI, air traffic control isn’t operated by the operators of the individual airports but rather centrally by the FAA for the entire country, even if the controllers are physically located at or near an airport.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-potential-for-automating-air-traffic-control/1032927/24 "2026-09-13T19:57:10Z")

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True. But the issue being batted about is the electronics installed on all the cars & trucks which drive around on the airport. Police & fire are the obvious ones but there are many more.

In typical US practice, the airport is owned and operated by the local government: city, county, or sometimes a multi-county authority. None of whom look at their airport as a high priority for optional spending on nice-to-have retrofits.

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