GAO study identifies critical risks in aging US air traffic control systems

A Government Accountability Office risk assessment to assess the viability of air traffic control systems operated by the Federal Aviation Administration following a national airspace closure in 2023 shows that 37 percent of the systems are unsustainable.

This week’s GAO assessment also determined that 51 of the 138 systems (39%) are potentially unsustainable.

Of the total of 105 unsustainable and potentially unstable systems, 58 (29 unsustainable and 29 potentially unstable) have “critical operational impact on the safety and efficiency of national airspace,” the assessment said.

The assessment acknowledges that the FAA has made efforts to upgrade 90 of the 105 unsustainable and potentially unsustainable systems, including 64 ongoing investments, but the agency has been slow to upgrade the most critical and risk-exposed systems.

Of the 17 most critical systems identified, 13 are more than two decades old, four are more than three decades old, while none of the systems have an associated completion date earlier than 2030, and four have no completion date , according to the assessment.

The review also notes that the FAA did not prioritize or initiate short-term plans to modernize unsustainable critical systems based on the 2023 operational risk assessment, but that the agency acknowledges their lack of oversight of these assessments.

GAO’s recommendations to the FAA include:

• Report to Congress how it mitigates the risks of all unsustainable and critical systems identified in annual operational risk assessments.
• Establish a timeline for developing and implementing guidance to increase oversight of pre-fair investments that require additional resources or time before establishing a baseline. Ensure investments in air traffic control modernization establish baselines in an expeditious manner.
• Establish a timeline for the development and implementation of guidelines to ensure that air traffic control system modernization investments are organized into manageable segments.
• Ensure consistent assessments by the oversight board of all major risks facing air traffic control modernization investments.

According to the assessment, the FAA safely manages more than 50,000 flights daily.

“Air traffic controllers use a multitude of systems to, among other things, monitor weather, conduct navigation and surveillance, and manage communications,” the assessment said. “However, in recent decades, the FAA has faced challenges related to aging (air traffic control) systems. These challenges are due to, among other things, parts availability, increasing demand for airspace and expanding mission needs.”