Witnesses at a hearing about air traffic control systems and staffing reiterated the need to improve the system and improve air traffic control hiring, facilities and technologies.
The hearing, called by the U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee, looked to hear testimony about the need to modernize the air traffic control (ATC) system, as well as to adequately staff it. Recent accidents, including a collision between an airplane and a U.S. Army helicopter, have highlighted the need to improve ATC systems and staffing, officials said.
“As a committee, we must decide how to utilize advancements in technology to supplement the daily work done by our dedicated air traffic controllers in the towers and the centers,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), said. “I look forward to working with fellow Members and stakeholders to find commonsense solutions that will improve the hiring of controllers, boost the air traffic control system, and advance safety for the flying public.”
Heather Krause, managing director of physical infrastructure at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, said the age of ATC equipment and systems was a concern.
“After the 2023 outage of its Notice to Airmen system, FAA conducted an operational risk assessment to evaluate the sustainability of all its ATC systems. The assessment determined that of its 138 systems, 51 (37 percent) were unsustainable, and 54 (39 percent) were 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,” she said.
The current circumstances present an opportunity for bipartisan support, other witnesses said.
“This should not be a partisan or jurisdictional issue, instead it should serve as a unique opportunity for the Administration, authorizing committees and appropriations committees to come together on a solution set that markedly improves FAA’s ability to plan and execute staffing and modernization efforts through Congressionally overseen predictable capital funding and use of personnel and procurement reforms which were given to the FAA in 1995, but never fully utilized,” Nicholas E. Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, said. “It is paramount that Congress, the Administration and the aviation community come together and embrace bold and decisive action to ensure that we do not squander this opportunity for historically meaningful change.”