Why Airlines and Airports Still Grapple With Technology Issues
Outages, outdated systems, and staffing shortages: Understanding the persistent tech struggles facing airlines and airports in 2025.
Frequent technology outages and operational disruptions have become headlines in the U.S. aviation industry, raising passenger frustrations and placing increased scrutiny on airport and airline systems. From ground stops at major airports like Newark to system failures affecting United, American, and Alaska Airlines, understanding the roots of these problems is crucial for travelers and industry insiders alike.
Introduction: Widespread Travel Disruptions
In early 2025, Newark Liberty International Airport experienced significant air traffic control-related tech issues, triggering ripple effects throughout the national airspace system. This event was followed by notable outages at prominent airlines such as United, American, and Alaska Airlines, leading to thousands of delays and cancellations. For travelers, déjà vu set in, as these system crises seemed to repeat more often and escalate in impact.
Why do these tech failures keep occurring? Experts and officials point to a complex mix of outdated systems, underinvestment in IT infrastructure, staffing shortages, and the inherent difficulty of modernizing vital yet entrenched technology platforms.
The Prevalence of Outages in 2025
Recent incidents highlight the persistence of technical failures:
- United Airlines: Suffered a system outage that led to over 60 flight cancellations and more than 1000 delays, affecting 35% of its daily schedule.
- Newark Liberty International Airport: Experienced air traffic control slowdowns due to both runway construction and associated technology and staffing issues within the FAA’s infrastructure.
- American and Alaska Airlines: Both faced acute technology glitches disrupting operations for thousands of passengers in recent months.
Each of these incidents points back to underlying problems with aging infrastructure and legacy computer systems that are ill-suited for modern air traffic demands.
Legacy Systems: The Weak Link in Airline Operations
Much of the backbone running U.S. airline and airport operations relies on technology from the 1970s and 1980s. For example, United Airlines’ ‘Unimatic’ system is a mainframe-based platform several decades old. This critical system feeds data to track flight times and conduct weight and balance calculations necessary for takeoff. Outages in Unimatic can lead to cascading failures, as newer digital tools remain dependent on these older core programs.
Why Haven’t Airlines Upgraded?
- Complex Integration: Airline and airport systems encompass flight tracking, crew scheduling, baggage handling, security, ticketing, maintenance, and more—all interconnected. Replacing one component often impacts many others.
- Downtime Concerns: Overhauling or even upgrading mission-critical systems increases the risk of prolonged outages, with the potential to paralyze operations.
- Expense: Replacing legacy systems is costly, extending into billions of dollars, and may require years of implementation and staff retraining.
- Regulatory Hurdles: Systems must meet stringent FAA and TSA standards, further complicating modernization efforts.
Air Traffic Control: Aged Infrastructure and Bottlenecks
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also come under scrutiny for relying on antiquated technology. For example, at Newark Liberty, critical radar data is processed by a system called STARS, whose primary hub is in New York but is linked to the Philadelphia TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control). The dependence on legacy telecommunications lines increases the risk of outages and slows response times during maintenance or failure events.
FAA Actions: Steps Toward Modernization
In response to the Newark crisis, the FAA initiated several measures:
- Adding high-bandwidth telecommunications connections for improved speed and redundancy.
- Upgrading to fiberoptic technology with greater bandwidth and reliability.
- Deploying temporary backup systems during critical transitions.
- Establishing a new STARS hub closer to the area to minimize reliance on remote data feeds.
- Increasing air traffic controller staffing at key hubs and expanding training pipelines.
Despite these steps, the pace of modernization is slow due to funding constraints, complexity, and the need to maintain safety during transitions.
The Human Factor: Staffing Shortages Compound Tech Risks
Both the FAA and airline operations depend on highly trained personnel. Chronic staffing shortages, particularly acute at air traffic control centers, have exacerbated the impact of technology disruptions. Even the most advanced systems cannot function optimally if there are not enough certified controllers or IT professionals to manage, maintain, or swiftly recover from outages.
- At Newark’s Philadelphia TRACON section, for instance, just 22 are fully certified, with 21 more still in training.
- Staffing challenges delay the adoption of new technologies and can limit redundancy—meaning fewer backups when issues arise.
The Cybersecurity Threat Looms Larger
As airlines and airports push into digital transformation, new cyber risks have emerged. Incidents of GPS spoofing, ransomware attacks, and passenger data breaches have increased markedly in the past few years. Notable examples:
- Ransomware disrupted ground operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2024, crippling check-in and ticketing systems.
- Boeing faced a $200 million ransom threat which exposed sensitive company data when unpaid.
- The Government of India documented over 465 GPS spoofing events affecting commercial and surveillance aircraft between 2023 and 2025.
Catalyzed by ever-connected platforms and interdependent IT networks, even minor breaches in one system can have big, systemwide impacts. The aviation sector is being urged to:
- Adopt robust cybersecurity measures at every level, including real-time threat detection and incident response.
- Coordinate with international cyber defense alliances and develop routinized security audits.
- Train staff to recognize and prevent social engineering attacks and phishing.
Why Change Is So Difficult
The root causes of persistent technology troubles are deep and multifactorial. Major barriers to smooth modernization include:
- Scale and Complexity: U.S. airspace manages tens of thousands of flights daily using layered, interconnected legacy systems. The intricate web of dependencies means any change must be carefully coordinated.
- Regulatory and Safety Requirements: New systems must pass rigorous governmental approval, ensuring that passenger safety is never compromised—even briefly—during technical transitions.
- Uninterrupted Demand: Airlines and airports cannot afford long operational downtimes for upgrades; they must operate nearly 24/7, leaving few windows for maintenance or implementation.
Expert Insights: The Cost of Delay
Aviation consultants and IT professionals warn that continued delays in upgrading systems increase the risk, frequency, and impact of future outages:
- Customer Impact: Passengers face more frequent flight interruptions, cancellations, and lost luggage.
- Financial Losses: Each major outage costs airlines and airports millions in lost revenue, refunds, and reputational damage.
The Modernization Path: Opportunities and Obstacles
Solving the technology conundrum requires bold investments and sustained political will. Emerging solutions being explored include:
- Incremental Modernization: Replacing legacy modules in stages to minimize operational risk.
- Cloud Migration: Moving certain non-critical data and operations to the cloud for greater scalability and recovery.
- Advanced Analytics: Using predictive algorithms, machine learning, and real-time data from IOT devices to anticipate failures and optimize operations.
- Virtual and Augmented Reality: Leveraged for maintenance, training, and passenger service improvements, AR/VR technologies can streamline tasks and lower the learning curve for new systems.
- Robotic Process Automation: Automating repetitive or routine back-office and operational tasks to reduce manual error and free up skilled personnel for higher-priority work.
Barriers Remain
Despite the promise of cutting-edge tech, obstacles persist:
- Transition periods are fraught with risk of outages.
- Funding allocation is often insufficient or tied up in regulatory red tape.
- Staff must be re-trained on new systems, which takes time and adds to operational load.
How Other Industries Tackle Similar Challenges
Many global industries face legacy technology hurdles, but airlines and airports have unique safety and regulatory imperatives. A brief comparison:
| Industry | Legacy Tech Issues | Modernization Strategy | Downtime Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airlines & Airports | Mission-critical systems from 1970s–80s | Gradual, tightly regulated replacement | Very high |
| Banking/Finance | Mainframe dependence | Phased migration, dual running systems | Medium-high |
| Hospitals/Health Care | Fragmented, outdated EHRs | Module-based upgrades, cloud shift | Medium |
| Retail | POS, inventory legacy tools | Rapid pilot programs, phased adoption | Low-medium |
For airlines and airports, the broad public safety consequences and the federal oversight required mean each upgrade must be even more carefully engineered.
What Can Travelers Expect?
Until systems are fully modernized, travelers should remain aware that interruptions are possible. Recommendations include:
- Sign up for airline and airport alerts or apps to receive real-time updates on flight and airport status.
- Allow extra time for connections, especially at large hubs or when traveling on tight schedules.
- Monitor news about outages—if an airline has recently experienced a tech issue, minor knock-on effects may linger.
How Airlines and Airports Can Improve Transparency
- Communicate quickly and clearly about the nature and expected duration of any outages or delays.
- Offer alternative arrangements or compensation when systems impact itineraries, to maintain customer trust.
- Regularly publish modernization roadmaps and progress reports to the public.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Why are technology outages so frequent with airlines and airports?
A: Many airlines and airports depend on legacy IT systems from the 1970s and 1980s that can be difficult and risky to upgrade, resulting in more frequent failures as components age or as system loads increase.
Q: What is the FAA doing to address air traffic control problems?
A: The FAA is upgrading telecommunications infrastructure, establishing redundant hubs, implementing fiberoptic connections, and expanding controller staffing and training at major centers. However, these changes take time to implement across the national airspace system.
Q: How do cyberattacks contribute to travel disruptions?
A: Cyberattacks such as ransomware, data breaches, and GPS spoofing have become increasingly common, causing shutdowns of key systems, exposing sensitive information, and sometimes grounding flights until security can be restored.
Q: Will modernization efforts eliminate outages entirely?
A: While modernization will greatly reduce the likelihood of catastrophic outages, the complexity of aviation operations means that minor disruptions could still occur due to software bugs, hardware failures, or new threats.
Q: What role does staffing play in technology reliability?
A: Adequate staffing is crucial for both operational continuity and the successful adoption of new technology. Staffing shortages compound risks, lengthen outage recoveries, and slow training for new systems.
Conclusion
Persistent technology issues in the U.S. airline and airport sector highlight the urgency for comprehensive IT modernization, robust cybersecurity, and sustained investment in skilled personnel. While incremental progress continues amidst disruption, transforming one of the world’s most complex transport systems for smoother skies will require coordinated industry, regulatory, and governmental effort.
References
- https://www.baeventures.com/en/insights/how-can-technology-improve-airport-operations-2025-and-beyond/957/
- https://www.gminsights.com/blogs/top-challenges-of-aviation-industry
- https://www.afar.com/magazine/why-airlines-and-airports-are-still-having-many-tech-issues
- https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-statements-newark-liberty-international-airport
