Trump blames Biden for aviation system delays, urges Congress to approve full funding

Former US President Donald Trump has called on Congress to allocate the necessary funding for aviation system upgrades in a single payment without delay, blaming President Joe Biden's administration for holding back progress in the sector.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that approving the required funding for the air traffic control system would allow it to be built quickly and efficiently, making it "the best system of its kind in the entire world."

He noted that much of the current system dates back 50 years, calling this "ridiculous," and confirmed that work had already begun. However, he stressed the need to complete the upgrades all at once, not in phases. Trump added that the Biden administration had caused years of delays to the project.

In his first statement after all US flights were grounded for several hours on Friday due to a technical update failure, Trump described the Biden administration's handling of aviation as a "disaster." He said they "ruined everything they touched," pointing to reckless spending that led to the deterioration of the outdated system.

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide halt to flight departures, causing nearly all outbound flights to be grounded for five hours. This marked the longest nationwide flight stoppage since the September 11, 2001 attacks and one of the worst travel days in US history.