Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Colorado U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse and Diana DeGette called on U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau to address increased air travel concerns following last week’s communications outage at the Denver International Airport and the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center in Longmont.
“The Department of Transportation must take immediate action to restore the American people’s faith in safe air travel,” wrote Bennet, Hickenlooper, Neguse, and DeGette. “While we are fortunate that our pilots safely managed this potentially catastrophic situation in Denver, this incident is part of an unacceptable pattern that many airports across the country are experiencing.”
According to the FAA, the outage left up to 20 pilots unable to communicate with air traffic control for up to six minutes while in flight. In their letter, the lawmakers emphasized that insufficient staffing at air traffic control towers and aging infrastructure are making American airspace less safe.
“While investigations of the incident are underway, the Department needs to take immediate action to address the aging infrastructure and low staffing levels at air traffic control towers. Additionally, the Department must restore the FAA personnel that DOGE terminated earlier this year – it is clear that adequate staffing at the FAA is critical to ensuring safety. Put simply, this administration’s actions are making American airspace less safe and putting American lives at risk every time they travel,” continued the lawmakers.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Duffy and Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau,
We write to express our deep concern regarding the communications outage at the federally managed air traffic control tower in Longmont, Colorado for Denver International Airport (DEN) on Monday May 12, 2025, which reportedly left up to 20 pilots unable to contact air traffic control for up to six minutes while in flight. The Department of Transportation must take immediate action to restore the American people’s faith in safe air travel.
While we are fortunate that our pilots safely managed this potentially catastrophic situation in Denver, this incident is part of an unacceptable pattern that many airports across the country are experiencing.
While investigations of the incident are underway, the Department needs to take immediate action to address the aging infrastructure and low staffing levels at air traffic control towers. Additionally, the Department must restore the FAA personnel that DOGE terminated earlier this year – it is clear that adequate staffing at the FAA is critical to ensuring safety.
Put simply, this administration’s actions are making American airspace less safe and putting American lives at risk every time they travel. We respectfully request the Department provide the undersigned a full accounting of the events referenced above, and detailed information as to what steps the Department intends to take to prevent future outages and ensure public safety at DEN.
We appreciate your attention to this serious matter.