As nation prepares for air traffic control overhaul, Vaughn College in Queens aims to be part of the solution. Here's how.
A college in Queens wants to be part of the solution when it comes to overhauling our country's air traffic control system.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Congress it will take more than $31 billion to get it done nationwide, and he said time is of the essence.
Vaughn College in Queens is full of students who say they're ready to face the aviation industry's biggest challenges — from staffing shortages to equipment failures. Training there encompasses everything from pilots running simulations over Long Island to aviation management majors who want to work for the Federal Aviation Administration.
"It really starts to turn the gears in my head wondering, how did we get here? How can we implement solutions in the future so it doesn't happen again?" student Elvira Pereyaslov said.
"We're ready to go"
President Trump's tax and spending bill includes more than $12 billion to get started on a major overhaul of the nation's air traffic control system. Duffy, however, told Congress the project will need tens of billions more. He said he wants to build a new version of the system by 2028 to address recent equipment failures.
"As the federal government decides the equipment and what it's going to look like, and where do they start — we're hoping New York. So goes New York, so goes the country," Vaughn College president Sharon DeVivo said.
And as CBS News New York was first to report back in the spring, Vaughn College will soon train some new FAA air traffic control hires on campus. The goal of that new program is to fight a nationwide air traffic controller shortage and get more controllers on the job faster.
"We've been approved by the FAA. We're ready to go. We've got new equipment. Our instructors helped design that curriculum," DeVivo said.
The team at Vaughn said they'll launch that new program this fall. They say they're starting small, with about 9-15 trainees.
