What GAO Found Personal protective equipment (PPE)—such as masks and gloves—helps minimize exposure to hazards, including illnesses. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–May 2023), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) expedited the transportation of PPE by air and helped mitigate supply chain challenges. FEMA. From March through June 2020, FEMA conducted Project Airbridge, in which FEMA paid for the air transportation of PPE from overseas to the U.S. to reduce shipment times. FEMA funded 437 flights to transport approximately 1.2 billion PPE items, primarily gloves, masks, and gowns. DOT. DOT used selected legal authorities to help expedite the transportation of PPE by air and to provide transportation industry stakeholders with regulatory relief that could have expedited the transportation of PPE. For example, DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration issued exemptions from certain regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow certain passenger air carriers to transport cargo in the passenger cabins of aircraft. DOT and other federal agencies also coordinated with transportation industry stakeholders specifically to mitigate supply chain issues and keep goods moving during the pandemic, which may have expedited the transportation of PPE. Boxes of Personal Protective Equipment Transported in the Passenger Cabin of an Aircraft During the COVID-19 Pandemic Stakeholders GAO interviewed shared perspectives on methods to expedite the transportation of PPE used during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many said that an increased federal role was unnecessary or could have had negative consequences. For example, two stakeholders cited the use of “peel piles” to designate areas at ports for containers from specific shippers as a method used to expedite goods during the pandemic, including PPE. Many stakeholders said they did not think more federal involvement was needed in expediting the transportation of PPE during the pandemic, or that increased federal involvement could have had negative consequences. For example, stakeholders said that federal involvement in prioritizing a container on a ship could have caused delays at ports. Furthermore, several of these stakeholders stated that the private sector and industry partners were better suited to take the lead in expediting the transportation of goods through the supply chain. Why GAO Did This Study During the COVID-19 pandemic, significant challenges, including global demand and supply chain issues, made it difficult to quickly access PPE. Delays in the transportation of PPE may have contributed to the spread of COVID-19, which killed nearly 1.2 million people in the U.S. as of June 1, 2024. Public Law 118-159 includes a provision for GAO to review the expedited transportation of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report describes, among other things, (1) how DOT and other relevant federal agencies expedited the transportation of PPE during the pandemic, including using selected legal authorities to do so; and (2) selected industry stakeholder perspectives on methods used to expedite the transportation of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their views on whether an increased federal role was needed. GAO reviewed documentation and interviewed officials from five federal agencies that played a role in expediting the transportation of PPE: DOT, FEMA, Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Defense, and the Federal Maritime Commission. GAO also reviewed relevant statutes, regulations, and executive orders and analyzed available data from FEMA and HHS that described the amount and type of PPE that these agencies transported during the COVID-19 pandemic. GAO interviewed a nongeneralizable sample of 21 stakeholders representing three groups relevant to the transportation of PPE: transportation industries, health care distributors, and port authorities. GAO selected these stakeholders based on factors including geographic diversity, involvement in federal efforts to expedite the transportation of PPE, or market share of their respective industry. For more information, contact Elizabeth Repko at RepkoE@gao.gov.

What GAO Found The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) has an ambitious goal to significantly accelerate the modernization of outdated air traffic control (ATC) systems. The goal is to be achieved at an unprecedented speed. The first of two phases aims to modernize communication, surveillance, weather, and training systems, among other things. For example, FAA plans to modernize voice radio systems 9 years earlier than initially planned. Phase 1 is to be fully completed by December 2028. In July 2025, Congress appropriated $12.5 billion to support BNATCS and FAA is using most of the funds for phase 1. For phase 2, FAA plans to develop new automation systems to track aircraft and optimize traffic. FAA stated that they will need approximately $10.2 billion for this phase (not including facilities). FAA does not yet have an estimated date for when phase 2 will be started or completed. FAA has made progress in implementing portions of phase 1. For example, as of May 2026, FAA reported replacing 2,560 of 5,170 old and frail copper wires with high-speed fiber optic communications cables. Copper Wires from the 1960s Are Being Replaced with Fiber Optic Cables FAA has not developed a comprehensive and well-documented lifecycle cost estimate for BNATCS. In June 2026, FAA officials provided high-level estimates per program for phase 1. However, officials were unable to provide the analysis that supported these figures. In addition, officials acknowledged that the estimate does not include government costs, most of the operations costs for phase 1, or any of the costs for phase 2. In addition, FAA has not developed an integrated master schedule for phase 1. Instead, FAA has 11,389 individual project schedules that are not integrated. As a result, individual projects are scheduled for installations at the same sites, generally without optimizing the schedules to reduce impacts to controller operations. Officials stated they have plans to address this issue, however; they did not have a time frame for when the issue would be resolved. While accelerating this modernization is critical, FAA’s lack of a reliable lifecycle cost estimate and an integrated master schedule introduce heightened risk to BNATCS. GAO’s decades-long bodies of work on acquisitions and FAA modernizations indicate that these risks increase the likelihood of FAA repeating its history of cost overruns, delays, and unmet performance targets. If these risks are realized, FAA would need to continue to rely on severely outdated systems that are prone to failure leading to more flight delays and safety incidents. Why GAO Did This Study FAA air traffic controllers rely on a myriad of legacy systems to monitor weather, conduct surveillance, and manage communications for up to 45,000 flights per day. This aging and unreliable technology has contributed to an increase in flight delays and aviation incidents. FAA has attempted to modernize ATC systems since the 1980s, but has experienced challenges and delivered limited results. In September 2024, GAO reported that over 75 percent of FAA’s 138 ATC systems were unsustainable or potentially unsustainable. GAO also reported that FAA was not moving fast enough to modernize its systems. In May 2025, the Secretary of Transportation announced the latest FAA modernization effort, BNATCS. Due to the importance of successfully implementing this latest modernization effort, GAO was asked to examine FAA’s progress. GAO’s objectives were to (1) identify the initial plans and status of BNATCS and (2) assess the extent to which FAA has established a cost estimate and schedule to support BNATCS. GAO analyzed FAA’s planning and implementation materials. GAO also assessed available schedule and cost estimation documentation and compared them to best practices. Further, GAO interviewed FAA officials regarding BNATCS status, cost, and schedule.