GAO warns fast-tracked FAA air traffic control overhaul risks cost overruns

The Federal Aviation Administration's fast-tracked effort to modernise air traffic control risks budget overruns, schedule delays and disruption to airspace operations, according to a US government report released on 14 September.

The Government Accountability Office said the FAA is adding risk in the interest of expediency. It found the agency has no reliable lifecycle cost estimate and no integrated master schedule, which it said could lead to cost overruns, unmet performance targets and excessive disruption to air traffic control operations.

The report, issued to a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives, examines the modernisation effort the Trump administration began in 2025 after the January collision that year between a US Army helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington, DC. The GAO is an independent agency that evaluates government programmes.

The programme, called the Brand-New Air Traffic Control System, aims to complete an initial phase by the end of 2028. The GAO noted the FAA exempted the project from typical acquisition management requirements and urged it to prioritise a lifecycle cost estimate and a detailed integrated master schedule.

The FAA disagrees. It says it has developed reliable cost estimates and a detailed planning schedule, and points to a 12 August letter to the GAO in which it said it is taking a disciplined approach, coordinating scheduling and managing the programme in line with best practices. The agency conceded it can make improvements.