NATCA Bookshelf

NIW Today | 51 Without a stable and predictable funding stream, NextGen modernization programs will continue to be threatened by delays and funding shortages that will jeopardize their success. FAA's Rapidly Aging Physical Infrastructure The FAA operates more than 300 air traffic control facilities of varying ages and conditions. The FAA's 20 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) located in the continental United States were built in the 1960s and are more than 50 years old. The FAA's large, stand-alone Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities (TRACONs) are, on average, 25 years old. In addition, the FAA has 132 combined TRACON/Towers, which average approximately 35 years old. Finally, the FAA has another 131 stand-alone towers which average about 30 years old; the oldest is over 75 years old. The FAA has begun the process of addressing its aging infrastructure through a combination of realignments, sustaining and maintaining some facilities, and replacing a handful of others. However, that process has been slow and hampered by stop-and-go funding. During the shutdown, critical physical infrastructure construction projects stopped at airports and radar facilities across the country. In addition, some of the critical safety equipment and technology that controllers use every day is decades old and at risk of malfunctioning. Even before the shutdown, the FAA had moved to a "fix-on-fail" maintenance philosophy and had stopped stockpiling critical parts for essential operational equipment. However, because of the shutdown, critical maintenance and repair projects have been delayed even more. There now is a backlog of maintenance projects at facilities around the country. The FAA needs a stable, predictable funding stream in order to adequately maintain and replace its aging infrastructure in the coming years.

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