WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - Major airline CEOs on

Wednesday called on Congress to approve billions of dollars in

funding to modernize the United States' aging air traffic

control system, saying it is "failing Americans."

The Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic

control network's woes have been years in the making. But a rush

of high-profile mishaps, near-misses and a deadly January crash

involving an

American Airlines ( AAL ) regional jet

caused public alarm and prompted new calls for action.

In a joint letter, the airline executives cited recent

failures involving Newark Airport and said the FAA's technology

"is wildly out of date."

"Aviation remains the safest mode of transportation in

the U.S., but for it to remain so, serious upgrades need to

happen now," said the letter, citing a 2023 independent review

that raised safety concerns.

The executives called for urgent action as the busy

summer travel season begins with the Memorial Day holiday this

weekend.

The FAA on Tuesday predicted a record number of Memorial

Day holiday flights despite imposing temporary flight cuts at

Newark due to runway construction, technology issues and

persistent air traffic control staffing shortages.

The letter was signed by the heads of American Airlines ( AAL )

, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines ( DAL ),

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ), JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ), Alaska

Airlines, Atlas Air, trade group Airlines for America and senior

executives at FedEx ( FDX ) and UPS.

Airlines and others this month called for at least $31

billion in spending on air traffic reform.

The U.S. House is considering legislation that includes

an initial $12.5 billion for air traffic control reform efforts.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants billions of

dollars to replace outdated radar and telecommunications

systems, air traffic control towers and other facilities and

increase air traffic control staffing.

The FAA wants funding for new radios, network

connections and to replace 618 radars, install anti-collision

tarmac technology at 200 airports, build six new air traffic

control centers and expand its ADS-B network of real-time

aircraft traffic information.

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of

targeted staffing levels.