Aging Air Traffic Control: 37% of Systems 'Unsustainable'

by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 7:45 PM ET, Wed March 5, 2025

More than one-third of the air traffic control systems across the United States are considered to be in an “unsustainable" state and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) efforts to upgrade the system are not having much impact.

Those are some of the key takeaways from testimony provided Tuesday by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) during a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

According to the testimony from Heather Krause, GAO's managing director, physical infrastructure, in 2023 FAA auditors examined 138 air traffic control centers nationwide.

The assessment determined that of its 138 systems:

51 (37 percent) are unsustainable
54 (39 percent) are potentially unsustainable

"Of the 105 unsustainable or potentially unsustainable systems, 73 were deployed over 20 years ago, with 40 being deployed over 30 years ago, and six of those deployed over 60 years ago," Krause said during Tuesday’s testimony.

In addition, among the unsustainable and potentially unsustainable systems, 58 had “critical operational impacts on the safety and efficiency of the national airspace.”

The FAA also found that 74 systems (70 percent) face one or more challenges that are historically problematic for aging systems. The challenges include no longer meeting mission needs, difficulty finding spare parts for the systems, and limited technical staff with expertise in repairing the aging system. 

“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," Krause, added.

While the results of FAA’s 2023 operational risk assessment “were intended to prioritize investment decisions,” it seems the FAA did not prioritize or establish near-term plans to modernize the most critical and at-risk systems identified in the assessment, according to Krause.

FAA Efforts to Remedy Aging and Unsustainable Infrastructure

In February 1982, the FAA released its first comprehensive plan for improving ATC services but faced various challenges with modernization efforts. Later, in 2023, amid such setbacks, Congress required the FAA to begin planning for and coordinating the transformation to what’s known as the “Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).”

The goal for NextGen was to “improve air traffic management and decrease aviation congestion by strategically planning, managing, and optimizing flights from departure gate through arrival gate.”

However, NextGen efforts have produced only minimal progress, according to Krause, and spending on the program between 2007 and 2022 totaled more than $14 billion.

"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," Krause told the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The FAA has experienced a range of challenges with NextGen implementation, including software development complexity, unanticipated system requirements, insufficient stakeholder involvement during system development and several unanticipated events, such as government shutdowns.

This reality has significantly delayed NextGen efforts. The FAA initially planned to complete NextGen by 2025 but now does not expect to complete its efforts until at least 2030.

Elon Musk Causing Further Problems

Senator Edward Markey recently shared his own concerns regarding issues plaguing the U.S. Air Traffic Control System, including criticizing Elon Musk’s role in the FAA’s review and operations.

In particular, Markey said in March 3, 2025 letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that Musk is “using his role as a senior government [appointee] to enrich his company SpaceX, currently competing for FAA contracts,”

Markey further stated that Musk has been making unfounded claims about the FAA.

“Musk’s comments suggesting that the Air Traffic Control communication system is ‘single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk,’ deserve immediate scrutiny,” Markey continued.

Given Musk’s far-reaching role within the U.S. government and his recent involvement with the FAA’s information technology systems, Musk’s comments could understandably cause panic among air travelers, Markey explained in his letter.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has worked over the past few years to improve aviation safety, including as part of last year’s important passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act under the Biden Administration.

“Although the FAA’s information technology systems need modernization, Musk’s alarmist rhetoric appears extreme. If he has discovered new vulnerabilities in the FAA’s Air Traffic Control system, the Committee should know about such information immediately,” Markey added.

Failing Musk being able to provide such information to the committee, Markey suggested the tech billionaire’s motivations in making such statements are likely to further enrich himself through government contracts for SpaceX.

It has been reported by Rolling Stone that the FAA is considering switching its $2.4 billion contract for NextGen communications from Verizon to Musk's Starlink. Musk, who controls six private companies including Starlink, Tesla and X, is already the recipient of billions of dollars from the federal government.

Musk has alleged that the Verizon system is "breaking down.” Musk later admitted his statement was wrong, and that he had mistaken Verizon’s network for another FAA network provided by a defense contractor.