U.S. Air Travel Chaos Foretold... Poor Preparation Despite Warnings of Replacement Risks

Report warned of "major communications outages during air traffic control network replacement"
Parts needed for radar equipment sometimes sourced from eBay

Critics say the air traffic control communications network failure that paralyzed flight operations across the United States was an accident that had been foreseeable for years. Repeated warnings said that replacing the aging network could cause a major communications outage, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly moved ahead with its modernization project without making adequate preparations.

According to The Washington Post (WP) and reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. air traffic control system has relied on copper wires installed in the 1960s and communications equipment that is decades old. The technology is so outdated that telecommunications companies have stopped supporting it. At some air traffic control facilities, staff have resorted to eBay to find discontinued parts.

An air traffic controller who requested anonymity told WP, "I recently ordered a part needed for ground radar equipment in the control tower on eBay and waited two weeks for it to arrive."

Travelers wait in line in front of ticket counters at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, New York, U.S., on the 14th (local time). New York, U.S. = AFP-Yonhap News.

The FAA is pursuing a modernization project to replace the aging communications network with fiber-optic infrastructure, and about 70% of the work has been completed. However, the network became overloaded while new equipment was being installed on Nov. 13, leading to nationwide flight disruptions. According to the FAA, the router being installed generated more than 1,000 connection signals every 4 to 5 seconds, destabilizing the communications networks at 17 of the country's 22 air route traffic control centers.

The problem is that warnings about the risk of a major outage during the replacement of the aging network had been raised for years. A report published in November 2023 by aviation safety experts commissioned by the FAA warned that an unexpected failure during the transition to a new communications system could cut off communications across the nationwide air traffic control network. In July that same year, the FAA also identified the air traffic control communications network as one of the highest-level risks to the safety of U.S. airspace.

Last September, the GAO also raised concerns about how the modernization project was being carried out, saying the FAA was prioritizing the pace of replacement work despite uncertainties over project costs and the risk of flight disruptions. It particularly noted that although the project involves more than 11,000 individual tasks, no master schedule had been created to coordinate them. The GAO warned that without such a schedule, it could be difficult to prevent conflicts between tasks or minimize disruptions to air traffic control operations.

An FAA technology official told WP, "You wouldn't just put a new engine into a car while it's moving, would you?" The official emphasized the risks involved in replacing equipment while keeping the existing system running.

The equipment replacement work that caused this outage was carried out on a Friday afternoon, when air traffic is heavy. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the work was being done at a facility far from major air routes and that replacing the aging equipment was urgent, but added that the timing of future work would be reviewed.

However, U.S. authorities say they will continue replacing the aging air traffic control network despite this incident. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stressed the need for modernization, saying, "If we don't replace it, it will keep breaking down."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.