Elon Musk made flying even worse so Palantir could profit

Two days earlier, connected August 4th, President Donald Trump departed the White House wrong his Marine One subject helicopter. As Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) protocol requires, the pilots tried to interaction Reagan National Airport to show them to halt commercialized postulation during the flight. But the aerial postulation controllers ne'er heard the transmission and cleared a different airplane for takeoff — which came person than the minimum safe region allowed. (When this communicative first collapsed successful The Wall Street Journal, the White House dismissed it, noting that Trump was ne'er successful “harm’s way.”)

The outages were surprising, fixed the administration’s stated ambitions to rebuild the nation’s aerial postulation power system. Last February, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy invited major Trump donor Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to overhaul the FAA. On X, Musk promised “rapid information upgrades to the aerial postulation power system.”

Meanwhile, the “rapid information upgrades” Musk promised ne'er materialized. The past fewer years person seen equipment failures successful Dallas, Denver, and Houston. Unexplained fumes successful Atlanta, Newark, and the Potomac aerial postulation power center. Chronic staffing shortages successful Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Philadelphia.

The nation’s unstable aerial postulation power strategy made 2025 the worst twelvemonth for formation delays successful complete a decade, according to the US Public Interest Research Group. One successful 4 flights was delayed, diverted, aliases canceled for a full of almost 1.7 cardinal disruptions. Tarmac delays, wherever airplanes are held connected the crushed but passengers must enactment connected board, were up 64 percent compared to 2024. And an estimated 2.4 cardinal checked bags were mislaid aliases damaged connected home flights alone.

In July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act authorized $12.5 cardinal successful supplemental funding for a complete overhaul of the FAA’s aerial postulation power system. Of that total, astir $5 cardinal is dedicated for package upgrades. And since Elon Musk’s DOGE fell short of its promises, the management has invited Peter Thiel, different Republican megadonor, to measurement successful astatine the FAA. His institution Palantir is profoundly integrated pinch the FAA’s systems, making it a premier contender for galore of those contracts, contempt nary important anterior acquisition pinch aerial postulation control.

According to aerial postulation controllers — respective of whom said to The Verge on information of anonymity truthful arsenic not to jeopardize their jobs — these moves will do small to alleviate the issues connected the crushed (and successful the air). They opportunity that the FAA’s astir urgent needs stay connected the unit side.

None of the $12.5 cardinal successful caller FAA backing authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill goes toward personnel. Instead, it seems destined for Palantir’s pockets.

In Trump’s 2nd term, Palantir, the analytics institution that Thiel cofounded and presently chairs, has quickly extended itself crossed the full national authorities for illustration a giant, data-sucking squid.

Legislators and watchdog groups person raised concerns astir data privacy, poor accuracy, and/or the legality of each programme mentioned above. But Palantir’s scope keeps growing.

The FAA started utilizing Palantir’s Foundry, a information integration and analytics system, successful 2024 during the Biden administration. All of the agency’s information and overmuch of its tech stack now runs done Palantir systems.

Palantir was moreover selected arsenic 1 of 3 finalists to bid connected the FAA’s $875 cardinal SMART nationalist airspace system contract. SMART is an AI-powered instrumentality that will thief controllers negociate postulation flows and foretell disruptions earlier they disrupt operations. Once again, Palantir’s integration pinch FAA systems was considered to beryllium acold much important than acquisition successful the industry.

Palantir yet mislaid the title to a Boston-based startup called Air Space Intelligence, whose executive squad includes 4 Palantir alumni: VP of operations Dan Rickert, caput of US operations Steph Starsia, maturation lead Connor Ryan, and main of unit Tate Krasner.

(Air Space Intelligence responded to The Verge’s petition for remark by referring america to the FAA’s media relations team.)

Meanwhile, real-time concerns are piling up — and FAA leaders person rushed to blasted the agency’s ongoing problems connected its personnel. On August 7th, thunderstorms successful the Northeast caused astir 9,000 formation delays and 2,000 cancellations. In a station connected X, Duffy implied that the main logic for delays was “controllers calling retired sick.”

His station outraged aerial postulation controllers astir the country. “These accommodation person been understaffed for decades,” said one. “If 2 controllers can’t make it to activity for immoderate reason, that’s 40-60 percent little staff. These crazy numbers make it look for illustration truthful overmuch much than it is.”

As we reported successful February 2025, the nation’s aerial postulation power strategy was already unstable moreover earlier Musk’s intervention. Almost 90 percent of the nation’s aerial postulation power centers were chronically understaffed, and the overwhelming mostly of exertion successful those centers was classified arsenic “unsustainable” aliases “potentially unsustainable” by the FAA. But while the tech is group for an upgrade, staffing remains a immense — and underfunded — issue.

Shut retired of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the agency must alternatively tie connected its normal 2026 fund for staffing, which includes only $239 cardinal successful caller costs to support controller hiring initiatives.

One specified inaugural was the “Level Up Your Career” inaugural that encouraged gamers to use to become aerial postulation controllers. According to Duffy, the run yielded 2,000 applications, which he described arsenic a “HISTORIC” success. Still, it’s a agelong roadworthy up for these candidates: Thirty percent of candidates lavation retired during training, and it takes up to 3 years to go a afloat certified controller.

To beryllium clear, immoderate finance successful America’s aging aerial postulation strategy is simply a bully thing. No management since Ronald Reagan’s has launched arsenic galore projects arsenic the Trump management has done since 2025. Even longtime observers successful the section of aviation information are impressed.

“There’s a batch going on,” said Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation. “Replacing copper wires crossed the country. Refurbishing and replacing radars. This management surely has focused connected implementation and getting things done.”

But Palantir’s package fixes are years distant from deployment. Its AI-based devices are still wholly unproven. And front-line controllers person yet to spot overmuch benefit.

One aerial postulation controller had not moreover heard of immoderate of the initiatives The Verge asked about. “The only caller exertion we person gotten was a caller surface that runs disconnected of the aforesaid aged hardware,” he said. “So that says a lot.”

Despite the controller shortfalls, the agency really thinks it tin run pinch less of them. In May it released a revised “full staffing target” that calls for only 12,563 progressive controllers, down from its original target of 14,633. It cites AI and amended scheduling practices for the alteration successful headcount.

That’s reliable to judge erstwhile galore accommodation already schedule group for 10 hours a day, six days a week, aggregate weeks successful a row.

“It is much charismatic politically for them to grant ample contracts to companies … alternatively than attraction connected the workforce itself,” said 1 20-year seasoned of the FAA. “I would alternatively spot our salary and staffing issues adequately addressed first.”

The schedule tin beryllium truthful punishing that burnout and exhaustion are common. Controllers consequence aesculapian suspension aliases moreover the nonaccomplishment of their occupation if they activity master thief for worry aliases depression. The termination complaint for aerial postulation controllers is eight times higher than the nationalist average. One controller who said to The Verge knew of 2 colleagues who person died by termination this year. (The FAA did not respond to a petition for comment.)

No wonderment the aerial postulation power strategy remains successful situation moreover aft the deadliest twelvemonth successful commercialized aviation since 2009.