US transportation chief to call for overhaul of air traffic control system

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - U.S Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday will urge Congress to approve billions of dollars to replace aging radar, telecommunications equipment, towers and other facilities in an overhaul of the crumbling air traffic control system, airline officials said.

Duffy, who will be joined by the CEOs of the five largest airlines and senior executives at Boeing BA.N and Airbus AIR.PA, will not set a precise figure for the overhaul that he has previously estimated will cost "tens of billions of dollars."

Also attending will be relatives of some of the 67 people killed on Jan. 29 in the mid-air collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet.