By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson

MONTREAL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has just two candidates vying to become the project manager of a multi-billion dollar effort to overhaul air traffic control in the United States, the agency’s top official told Reuters.

The FAA says it plans to pick a winner by the end of October to manage the contract. Earlier in the process, sources told Reuters, multiple companies were expected to apply.

The aging U.S. air traffic control system is badly in need of overhaul and routinely suffers serious technology outages. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the FAA has been forced at times to go to eBay to get spare parts. A government report last year said 51 of its 138 air traffic control systems are unsustaina

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