Crowded planes and airports set records, straining the U.S. aviation system
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Few major airports in the U.S. have grown faster in recent decades than Nashville International Airport, and Shirley Beldsoe thinks it's changed for the better.
"The airport's beautiful now. Uptown!" said Bledsoe of Brentwood, Tenn., who's been flying through this airport since the 1970s.
But ask Bledsoe how the in-flight experience has changed, and she says she feels squeezed by the airlines.
"I think the airplane design has made it more crowded. Some of my suitcases don't even roll through the aisle," she said. "And then I just think the legroom has gotten tighter. So it's more the design of the planes that's been uncomfortable."
If you're flying across the country this Fourth of July weekend, you're in good company. The biggest holiday of the summer is expected to set travel records again, with the Transportation Security Administration preparing to screen more than 18 million travelers at U.S. airports over the next week.
U.S. airlines are carrying more passengers than ever, even while operating fewer flights than they did 20 years ago. They're flying bigger planes while filling more seats on each one, and that's testing the limits of the aviation system.
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The airlines have invested billions to optimize their own operations. Now the industry is pushing the government to do the same thing for the nation's airspace.
"It's clear that the biggest threat to [a] healthy and competitive airline industry is our short-staffed and woefully antiquated air traffic control system," Chris Sununu, the head of the industry trade group Airlines For America, said at a hearing on Capitol Hill last week.
Sununu, who formerly served as governor of New Hampshire, urged Congress to find more money to overhaul the air traffic control system — on top of the billions lawmakers appropriated last year to upgrade communications and radar equipment.
"Congress must build upon its $12.5 billion down payment toward air traffic control modernization, with the next round of funding to ensure that technology gaps that have been completely ignored for the last 30 years that they finally get addressed," Sununu said.
There's broad agreement that the nation's air traffic control system has not kept pace with growing demand. The system is thousands of controllers short of full staffing.
At the control tower in Nashville, the Federal Aviation Administration had only 27 fully certified controllers on staff as of September — well short of its official target of 52. The shortage has forced the FAA to stop or delay traffic several times, and not only during the partial government shutdown that hobbled many control facilities across the country.
Even the head of the FAA says the aviation system has "reached its limits." At an aviation industry conference in May, administrator Bryan Bedford said the FAA needs to do more than just replace aging equipment.
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"If we just remove all the '70s, '80s and '90s technology and replace it with 21st century digital tech, we'll have a really super reliable system," Bedford said. "But all of the inefficiencies that are essentially designed into the current system, that will be unchanged."
Last week, the FAA announced an $875 million contract for AI-enhanced software to coordinate flights across the entire airspace. Bedford says predictive analytics will help the FAA use its infrastructure more efficiently, potentially freeing up capacity for more flights.
There is bipartisan support for modernizing the nation's airspace. Polly Trottenberg, who served as deputy transportation secretary and acting head of the FAA during the Biden administration, applauds the Trump administration for dedicating $12.5 billion to air traffic control.
"It's a good down payment," she said, "but it's not nearly what a system that has been chronically underinvested in for a decade and a half needs."
Trottenberg is skeptical that AI-enhanced software alone can fix all of the system's problems.
"The system itself has not kept pace with growth and demand. And predictive analytics can help with that," she said. "But I think there also has to be a better balance between basically supply and demand."
Last year was a record-breaking year for Nashville International Airport, capping several decades of explosive growth. The number of passengers departing from Nashville more than doubled between 2015 and 2025, according to data from the Department of Transportation.
The airport has expanded rapidly to keep up, adding restaurants, gates and a new lobby. But some travelers said they feel the strain of all that rapid growth.
"Air travel's sucking more lately," said Marisol Maldonado, who was flying from Nashville back home to McAllen, Texas.
"Absolutely, yes, it is crazy, especially when you're trying to rent a car. That's the nightmare," said Nate Jones, who was visiting relatives in Tennessee. "But hey, you just have to be patient and work with it."
_WPLN's Cynthia Abrams reported from Nashville, and Joel Rose reported from Washington._
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Transcript
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
If you are flying on a plane this Fourth of July weekend, you're in good company. The biggest holiday of the summer is once again expected to set travel records this year. U.S. airlines are carrying more passengers than ever, and that is testing the limits of the aviation system, as NPR's Joel Rose reports.
JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: Over the past decade, few major airports in the U.S. have grown faster than Nashville International Airport.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BLAKE SHELTON: Hey, y'all. This is Blake Shelton here, welcoming you to Nashville International Airport.
ROSE: The number of passengers in Nashville set a record last year, more than doubling the number of departures between 2015 and 2025, according to the Department of Transportation. The airport has expanded rapidly to keep up, adding restaurants and gates. Shirley Bledsoe of Brentwood, Tennessee, thinks it's changed for the better.
SHIRLEY BLEDSOE: The airport's beautiful now. Uptown.
ROSE: Bledsoe has been flying through this airport since the 1970s. She says the flying experience has changed, too, but not in a good way.
BLEDSOE: I think the airplane design has made it more crowded. Some of my suitcases don't even roll through the aisle. And then I just think that leg room has gotten tighter. So it's more the design of the planes that's been uncomfortable.
SHELTON: She's not the only traveler who is feeling the strain of all that rapid growth. Marisol Maldonado (ph) is flying back to McAllen, Texas, while Nate Jones (ph) is visiting relatives in Tennessee.
MARISOL MALDONADO: Air travel's sucking more lately.
NATE JONES: Absolutely, yes. It is crazy, especially when you're trying to rent a car. That's the nightmare. But hey, you just have to be patient and work with it.
ROSE: U.S. airlines are carrying more passengers than ever, even while operating fewer flights than they did 20 years ago. They're flying bigger planes and filling more seats on each one. The airlines have invested billions to make their own operations more efficient. Now the industry is pushing the government to do the same thing for the nation's airspace.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHRIS SUNUNU: It's clear that the biggest threat to healthy and competitive airline industry, it's our short-staffed and woefully antiquated air traffic control system.
ROSE: That's Chris Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire, who now heads the industry trade group Airlines for America. At a hearing last week on Capitol Hill, Sununu urged Congress to find more money to overhaul the air traffic control system on top of the billions lawmakers appropriated last year to upgrade communications and radar equipment.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SUNUNU: Congress must build upon its $12.5 billion down payment toward air traffic control modernization with the next round of funding to ensure that technology gaps that have been completely ignored for the last 30 years - that they finally get addressed.
ROSE: The nation's air traffic control system has not kept pace with growing demand. That system is thousands of controllers short of full staffing. Even the head of the Federal Aviation Administration says it has, quote, "reached its limits." At an aviation conference in May, FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency needs to do more than just replace aging equipment.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRYAN BEDFORD: If we just remove all the '70s, '80s and '90s technology, and replace it with 21st century digital tech, we'll have a really super-reliable system, but all of the inefficiencies that are essentially designed into the current system, that will be unchanged.
ROSE: Last week, the FAA announced an $875 million contract for AI-enhanced software to coordinate flights across the entire airspace. Bedford says predictive analytics will help the FAA use its infrastructure more efficiently, potentially freeing up capacity for more flights. There is bipartisan support for modernizing the nation's airspace. Polly Trottenberg served as deputy transportation secretary and acting head of the FAA during the Biden administration.
POLLY TROTTENBERG: It's a good down payment, but it's not nearly what a system that has been chronically underinvested in for a decade and a half needs.
ROSE: Trottenberg applauds the Trump administration for dedicating more money to air traffic control, but she's skeptical that AI-enhanced software alone can fix all of the system's problems.
TROTTENBERG: The system itself has not kept pace with growth and demand. And predictive analytics can help with that, but I think there also has to be a better balance between basically supply and demand.
ROSE: No matter how efficient you make the nation's aviation system, it will still be limited by the number of runways and gates, and that may never be able to satisfy the demand at the most congested airports. Joel Rose, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE DIP'S "EASY LOVE")
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CORRECTION
Jul. 1st, 2026
_An earlier version of this story incorrectly described ongoing changes at Nashville international Airport. The airport has added new concourses, not terminals, and the Grand Lobby, which opened in 2023, is being reconfigured, but is not closed._