GAO: FAA must urgently modernize aging air traffic control systems

GAO highlights critical issues within the Federal Aviation Administration’s aging air traffic control systems, urging immediate modernization efforts in a recent report flagged by NextGov. GAO's assessment revealed that 37% of FAA’s 138 ATC systems are unsustainable, and 39% are potentially unsustainable, “citing outdated functionality, a lack of spare parts, and more,” and significantly affecting the safety and efficiency of the national airspace.

The report comes after a national airspace shutdown in 2023 due to an ATC system outage. It found that “of the 105 unsustainable and potentially unsustainable systems, 58 (29 unsustainable and 29 potentially unsustainable systems) have critical operational impacts on the safety and efficiency of the national airspace.”

FAA failed to use a 2023 operational risk assessment to prioritize system modernization and provides limited oversight of prebaselined investments. “Specifically, the 11 applicable investments took an average of 4 years and 7 months to establish their baselines. In addition, one investment took 6 years and 8 months, and, as of May 2024, two others that were initiated over 6 years ago had not established their baselines. FAA officials acknowledged the gaps in accountability and stated that they were in the initial phase of planning to establish greater accountability.”

The report included seven recommendations to improve oversight, accountability, and efficiency in modernizing ATC systems. These include reporting to Congress on risk mitigation, establishing timeframes for guidance implementation, ensuring timely baseline establishment for investments, organizing modernization efforts into manageable segments, conducting consistent high-risk reviews, finalizing acquisition documentation, and properly documenting business case approvals.