GAO Upgrades ATC Modernization

FAA’s air-traffic control system modernization has been dropped from the “High-Risk List” compiled by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after 14 years.

In a biennial update presented to Congress Thursday, GAO said “enough progress” has been made to remove the air-traffic modernization from the list of 30 government programs and operations.

“Faced with growing air traffic and aging equipment, FAA launched an ambitious effort in 1981 to modernize its air traffic control system. Key projects, however, were plagued by cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls,” leading to the listing in 1995, GAO said. The agency said it removed the program from the 2009 update “because of FAA’s progress in addressing most of the root causes of its past problems and the agency’s commitment to sustaining progress.”

The list is updated every two years and released at the start of each new Congress to help in setting oversight agendas.

“Steady improvements in the FAA’s financial management and strategies for fielding new air traffic technology have shown that we’re committed to keeping these programs on track,” said FAA Acting Administrator Lynne Osmus. “Many FAA employees have worked very hard to get us where we are today.”