Please fasten your seatbelts. A third of US air traffic control systems are 'unsustainable'
(2025/03/05)
- Reference: 1741135061
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/03/05/faa_air_traffic_control/
- Source link:
Over a third of the USA’s air traffic control systems are in an “unsustainable" state, and the FAA's decades-long project to upgrade them is not going well.
That concerning situation was described on Tuesday by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in [1]testimony to the House committee on transportation and infrastructure’s subcommittee on aviation.
The auditors at the GAO examined 138 ATC operations and [2]found that 51 (37 percent) were considered "unsustainable" by the FAA and 54 (39 percent) were "potentially unsustainable."
[3]
The FAA deployed six of the ATC systems 60 years ago, and 40 are 30 years old. 72 have been in operation for over two decades. Spare parts are scarce, and trained personnel to maintain them are becoming harder to find.
[4]
[5]
"The FAA’s reliance on a large percentage of aging and unsustainable or potentially unsustainable collection of ATC systems introduces risks to the FAA's ability to ensure the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic," [6]said Heather Krause, the GAO's managing director of physical infrastructure, in testimony to US House reps.
Turbulent testimony
Union representatives, industry lobbying firms, and consultants also testified before the subcommittee this week.
David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, [7]explained [PDF] the FAA must manage both aging kit and an aging workforce.
The union rep said it takes three years to train a new FAA systems specialist, and they aren’t hired until another one retires which means the org has gaps on its team.
The FAA employs around 4,800 specialists. Spero said: "This number of employees has been on a consistent decline for years, helped in part by the increasing number of retirements."
Pete Bunce, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, [8]called for [PDF] “new and innovative procurement methods to facilitate the deployment of state of-the-art technology” at the FAA.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, accused the FAA of hampering itself with insufficient budget planning, saying the agency "consistently requested too little." This has led to a slowdown in modernization, he [9]claimed [PDF].
Paul Rinaldi, president of aviation-focused Rinaldi Consultants, used his [10]testimony [PDF] to comment on the [11]January mid-air collision between a passenger jet and an army helicopter over Washington DC.
"This tragedy was not an unforeseen catastrophe but a preventable failure," he opined. "There were warning signs — identical incidents … had occurred and were narrowly avoided only because they happened in daylight when helicopters were better able to take evasive action. Why did these near-misses not lead to improvements? Why did we wait for disaster?"
The FAA has a plan to address this, the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) project, but it’s not going well. The [12]project started in 2007 and was due to conclude around 2030.
Krause’s view of the project’s progress was not flattering.
"We determined that as of May 2024, FAA had 17 systems that were especially concerning. Of these 17 systems, the investments for 13 were not planned to be completed for at least six years, and in some cases were not to be completed for at least 10 years," she testified. Four systems that need work are yet to become the subject of upgrade plans.
[13]
In 2023 and 2024 the GAO recommended the FAA should “address shortcomings in the agency’s management of NextGen and ATC system investments.” Developing a risk mitigation plan for NextGen was one of those recommendations, but that plan hasn’t been developed.
[14]FAA confirms it's testing Starlink, maybe for tasks Elon says Verizon is doing badly
[15]Massive outage grounded US flights because someone accidentally deleted a file
[16]US warns aging air-traffic control code won't be fixed until 2030
[17]Aviation overhaul bill passes US House... for the third time
The FAA has had some wins. Past GAO recommendations to “conduct root cause analysis on programs that exceed baselines and managing investments in segments” have been met. The administration also delivered a project to modernize communications systems in ATC towers two years ahead of schedule.
A 2018 US government shutdown and the COVID-19 pandemic created unavoidable delays to other efforts.
However, the aviation regulator blew a deadline to connect the 20 FAA centers that manage flights in transit between airports by four years.
Elon isn’t helping
The subcommittee on aviation isn’t the only entity in Washington being asked to consider safety in the skies this week.
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) [18]wrote [PDF] to the heads of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to ask what is being done to improve aviation safety. He cited criticism from President Trump's eminence grease Elon Musk about the existing FAA communications setup, saying SpaceX billionaire's comments left air travelers concerned about safety grounds and seemed motivated by a desire to sell his Starlink satellite broadband kit to the agency.
US Air Traffic Control system vulnerable to hackers [19]FROM ARCHIVE
"Although the FAA’s information technology systems need modernization, Musk’s alarmist rhetoric appears extreme," Markey wrote.
"If he has discovered new vulnerabilities in the FAA’s Air Traffic Control system, the Committee should know about such information immediately. If Musk cannot provide evidence of his claims, it raises serious questions about whether he is using his role as a senior government official to enrich his company SpaceX, currently competing for FAA contracts."
The FAA is [20]reportedly considering switching its $2.4 billion contract for NextGen communications from Verizon to Starlink. Musk alleged the Verizon system is "breaking down" and that the FAA is "is single digit months to catastrophic failure."
[21]
He [22]later admitted he'd mistaken Verizon's network for another FAA network provided by defense contractor L3Harris. ®
Get our [23]Tech Resources
[1] https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-25-108162/index.html
[2] https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-108162
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-25-108162/index.html
[7] https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03-04-2025_aviation_hearing_-_dave_spero_-_testimony.pdf
[8] https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03-04-2025_aviation_hearing_-_pete_bunce_-_testimony.pdf
[9] https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03-04-2025_aviation_hearing_-_nick_daniels_-_testimony.pdf
[10] https://transportation.house.gov/UploadedFiles/03-04-2025_Aviation_Hearing_-_Paul_Rinaldi_-_Testimony.pdf
[11] https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/plane-crash-dca-potomac-washington-dc-01-29-25/index.html
[12] https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/today
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/27/faa_starlink_test/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/21/faa_outage_reasons/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/07/faa_notam_air_traffic/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/26/notam_overhaul_passes_house/
[18] https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_chairman_cruz_and_ranking_member_cantwell_on_aviation_safety.pdf
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2000/09/27/us_air_traffic_control_system/
[20] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/elon-musk-starlink-faa-officials-find-funding-1235285246/
[21] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[22] https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1895129237478162621
[23] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
That concerning situation was described on Tuesday by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in [1]testimony to the House committee on transportation and infrastructure’s subcommittee on aviation.
The auditors at the GAO examined 138 ATC operations and [2]found that 51 (37 percent) were considered "unsustainable" by the FAA and 54 (39 percent) were "potentially unsustainable."
[3]
The FAA deployed six of the ATC systems 60 years ago, and 40 are 30 years old. 72 have been in operation for over two decades. Spare parts are scarce, and trained personnel to maintain them are becoming harder to find.
[4]
[5]
"The FAA’s reliance on a large percentage of aging and unsustainable or potentially unsustainable collection of ATC systems introduces risks to the FAA's ability to ensure the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic," [6]said Heather Krause, the GAO's managing director of physical infrastructure, in testimony to US House reps.
Turbulent testimony
Union representatives, industry lobbying firms, and consultants also testified before the subcommittee this week.
David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, [7]explained [PDF] the FAA must manage both aging kit and an aging workforce.
The union rep said it takes three years to train a new FAA systems specialist, and they aren’t hired until another one retires which means the org has gaps on its team.
The FAA employs around 4,800 specialists. Spero said: "This number of employees has been on a consistent decline for years, helped in part by the increasing number of retirements."
Pete Bunce, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, [8]called for [PDF] “new and innovative procurement methods to facilitate the deployment of state of-the-art technology” at the FAA.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, accused the FAA of hampering itself with insufficient budget planning, saying the agency "consistently requested too little." This has led to a slowdown in modernization, he [9]claimed [PDF].
Paul Rinaldi, president of aviation-focused Rinaldi Consultants, used his [10]testimony [PDF] to comment on the [11]January mid-air collision between a passenger jet and an army helicopter over Washington DC.
"This tragedy was not an unforeseen catastrophe but a preventable failure," he opined. "There were warning signs — identical incidents … had occurred and were narrowly avoided only because they happened in daylight when helicopters were better able to take evasive action. Why did these near-misses not lead to improvements? Why did we wait for disaster?"
The FAA has a plan to address this, the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) project, but it’s not going well. The [12]project started in 2007 and was due to conclude around 2030.
Krause’s view of the project’s progress was not flattering.
"We determined that as of May 2024, FAA had 17 systems that were especially concerning. Of these 17 systems, the investments for 13 were not planned to be completed for at least six years, and in some cases were not to be completed for at least 10 years," she testified. Four systems that need work are yet to become the subject of upgrade plans.
[13]
In 2023 and 2024 the GAO recommended the FAA should “address shortcomings in the agency’s management of NextGen and ATC system investments.” Developing a risk mitigation plan for NextGen was one of those recommendations, but that plan hasn’t been developed.
[14]FAA confirms it's testing Starlink, maybe for tasks Elon says Verizon is doing badly
[15]Massive outage grounded US flights because someone accidentally deleted a file
[16]US warns aging air-traffic control code won't be fixed until 2030
[17]Aviation overhaul bill passes US House... for the third time
The FAA has had some wins. Past GAO recommendations to “conduct root cause analysis on programs that exceed baselines and managing investments in segments” have been met. The administration also delivered a project to modernize communications systems in ATC towers two years ahead of schedule.
A 2018 US government shutdown and the COVID-19 pandemic created unavoidable delays to other efforts.
However, the aviation regulator blew a deadline to connect the 20 FAA centers that manage flights in transit between airports by four years.
Elon isn’t helping
The subcommittee on aviation isn’t the only entity in Washington being asked to consider safety in the skies this week.
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) [18]wrote [PDF] to the heads of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to ask what is being done to improve aviation safety. He cited criticism from President Trump's eminence grease Elon Musk about the existing FAA communications setup, saying SpaceX billionaire's comments left air travelers concerned about safety grounds and seemed motivated by a desire to sell his Starlink satellite broadband kit to the agency.
US Air Traffic Control system vulnerable to hackers [19]FROM ARCHIVE
"Although the FAA’s information technology systems need modernization, Musk’s alarmist rhetoric appears extreme," Markey wrote.
"If he has discovered new vulnerabilities in the FAA’s Air Traffic Control system, the Committee should know about such information immediately. If Musk cannot provide evidence of his claims, it raises serious questions about whether he is using his role as a senior government official to enrich his company SpaceX, currently competing for FAA contracts."
The FAA is [20]reportedly considering switching its $2.4 billion contract for NextGen communications from Verizon to Starlink. Musk alleged the Verizon system is "breaking down" and that the FAA is "is single digit months to catastrophic failure."
[21]
He [22]later admitted he'd mistaken Verizon's network for another FAA network provided by defense contractor L3Harris. ®
Get our [23]Tech Resources
[1] https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-25-108162/index.html
[2] https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-108162
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-25-108162/index.html
[7] https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03-04-2025_aviation_hearing_-_dave_spero_-_testimony.pdf
[8] https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03-04-2025_aviation_hearing_-_pete_bunce_-_testimony.pdf
[9] https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03-04-2025_aviation_hearing_-_nick_daniels_-_testimony.pdf
[10] https://transportation.house.gov/UploadedFiles/03-04-2025_Aviation_Hearing_-_Paul_Rinaldi_-_Testimony.pdf
[11] https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/plane-crash-dca-potomac-washington-dc-01-29-25/index.html
[12] https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/today
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/27/faa_starlink_test/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/21/faa_outage_reasons/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/07/faa_notam_air_traffic/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/26/notam_overhaul_passes_house/
[18] https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_chairman_cruz_and_ranking_member_cantwell_on_aviation_safety.pdf
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2000/09/27/us_air_traffic_control_system/
[20] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/elon-musk-starlink-faa-officials-find-funding-1235285246/
[21] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z8fagMygvuGLPPoY0qg-ZwAAAhY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[22] https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1895129237478162621
[23] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
not new situation
Denarius
in 1970s a book "Safety Last " written by a commercial pilot had scathing assessments of FAA. Pre Y2K old El Reg had a few stories of FAA manglement IT procurement failures.
Nothing is ever new
diodesign
Yeah no doubt, but it's not like we can never speak of the FAA's IT again because it's already known to be wobbly in the past. This is the state of the situation here and now.
For fun, I've added a link to a 2000-era Reg piece on FAA systems.
C.
Get it Effin' Done
An_Old_Dog
Do NOT spec a "next generation", cloud-resident, AI-"assisted" system.
Spec a system with the feature-set of the current system, with local-to-the-airport computer residency, comms to the rest of the ATC systems, redundancy with auto-failover/recovery. Use modern COTS computer hardware and interfaces, no "Dell-proprietary", "HP-proprietary", etc. power supplies, motherboards, cables, connectors, video standards, or form factors. (COTS radar units might be harder.)
But that's not how big-ticket government systems procurement happens.
(Icon for [Washington, D.C.] "Beltway Bandits".)
Is that the same FAA ...
jake
... that has been ordered by the current Government to dig up enough money to pay Starlink so they can drop the "wasteful" contract they have with Verizon?
Yes, kiddies, Elon Musk has apparently ordered the US government to pay one of his companies 2.2 billion dollars to provide comms. for the FAA, and to do it immediately (if not sooner). So the FAA is scrambling to pile up enough loot (in the tens of millions of dollars) with the money "saved" by the recent firings in order to pay off Verizon to get out of the existing contract ... All for a system that has never been tested with something the size and complexity of the FAA.
And here I thought DOGE and Elon were supposed to be getting rid of fraud, graft, corruption, wasteful spending and etc. within the .gov?
Silly me ... That would be except for President Elon, the Court Jester Trump, and the villiage idot Vance's pet projects. Of course.
Q: How do you know when President Musk, VP Trump and some idiot who is so juvenile that he calls himself JD are lying? A: Their lips are moving, and sounds are emanating from their vocal chords.