GAO-17-450 Accessible Version, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL .
United States Government Accountability OfficeReport to Congressional RequestersAugust 2017AIR TRAFFICCONTROLMODERNIZATIONProgress andChallenges inImplementingNextGenAccessible VersionGAO-17-450
August 2017AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL MODERNIZATIONProgress and Challenges in Implementing NextGenHighlights of GAO-17-450, a report tocongressional requestersWhy GAO Did This StudyWhat GAO FoundFAA is leading the implementation ofNextGen, which is designed totransition the nation’s ground-based airtraffic control system to one that usessatellite navigation, automated positionreporting, and digital communications.Planning for NextGen began in 2003and in 2007 the effort was estimated tocost between 29 and 42 billion by2025. NextGen is intended to increaseair transportation system capacity,enhance airspace safety, reducedelays, save fuel, and reduce adverseenvironmental effects from aviation.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is implementing the Next GenerationAir Transportation System (NextGen) incrementally and has taken actions toaddress challenges to implementation. NextGen has enhanced surface trafficoperations at 39 of the 40 busiest airports in the United States by providingelectronic communications to clear planes for departure, technology that canexpedite clearances and reduce errors. FAA has taken steps to addresschallenges such as limited stakeholder inclusion that affected earlyimplementation of NextGen. For example, FAA established groups of industrystakeholders and government officials, who worked together to developimplementation priorities. By 2025, FAA plans to deploy improvements in allNextGen areas—communications, navigation, surveillance, automation, andweather. While specific NextGen initiatives and programs have changed overtime, FAA’s 2016 cost estimates for implementing NextGen through 2030 for 1)FAA and 2) industry— 20.6 and 15.1 billion, respectively—are both withinrange of 2007 cost estimates.Given the cost, complexity, and lengthof the project, GAO was asked toreview FAA’s NextGen implementationefforts. This report examines: 1) howFAA has implemented NextGen andaddressed implementation challenges;and 2) the challenges, if any, thatremain for implementing NextGen, andFAA’s actions to mitigate thosechallenges.GAO reviewed FAA documents,advisory group reports, and NextGenrelated recommendations made to FAAby GAO and others. GAO intervieweda non-generalizable sample of 34 U.S.aviation industry stakeholders,including airlines, airports, aviationexperts and research organizations,among others, to obtain their views onNextGen challenges and FAA’s effortsto address them. Stakeholders wereselected based on GAO’s knowledgeof the aviation industry and includesthose that have made NextGen-relatedrecommendations to FAA, amongother things. GAO also interviewedFAA officials regarding NextGenimplementation and stakeholders’views.View GAO-17-450. For more information,contact Gerald Dillingham, Ph.D., at (202)512-2834 or dillinghamg@gao.gov.Expected Improv ements under the Next Generation Air Transportation SystemFAA’s challenges as it continues to implement NextGen include uncertaintiesregarding future funding; whether aircraft owners equip their aircraft to useNextGen improvements; potential air traffic control restructuring; FAA’sleadership stability; and cybersecurity issues. FAA is taking actions to addresschallenges within its control by, for example, prioritizing NextGen improvementsand segmenting them into smaller pieces that each require less funding. While itis not possible to eliminate all uncertainties, FAA has adopted an enterprise riskmanagement approach to help it identify and mitigate current and future risksthat could affect NextGen implementation. Moreover, FAA has implemented mostof GAO’s related recommendations.United States Gov ernment Accountability Office
ContentsLetter1BackgroundFAA Is Implementing NextGen Incrementally and Has TakenVarious Actions to Address ChallengesFAA Faces Various Challenges to Implementing NextGenAgency Comments362336Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology38Appendix II: Select Planning and Implementation Documents42Appendix III: Selected Programs in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)45Appendix IV: Status of NextGen’s Recommendations49Appendix V: Next Generation Air Transportation System’s (NextGen) Activities Deferred Until After 203052Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments54Appendix VII: Accessible Data55Data Tables55TablesTable 1: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Portfolios of NextGeneration Air Transportation System (NextGen)Operational ImprovementsTable 2: NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task ForceRecommendation AreasTable 3: List of the 34 Aviation Industry Stakeholders WeInterviewedTable 4: Select Planning and Implementation Documents for theNext Generation Air Transportation System, 2004-2016Table 5: Selected Programs in the Next Generation AirTransportation System (NextGen)Page i911394245GAO-17-450 Air Traffic Control Modernization
Table 6: Next Generation Air Transportation System’s (NextGen)Activities Deferred Until After 203052FiguresFigure 1: Improvements to Phases of Flight Expected under theNext Generation Air Transportation SystemFigure 2: Metroplex Sites and Their Completion Status, as ofMarch 2017Figure 3: Federal Funds the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)Has Received for Next Generation Air TransportationSystem (NextGen) Programs and Activities, Fiscal Years2007 through 2016Figure 4: The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) AnnualUnmanned Aircraft Systems Sightings, 2014 through2016Figure 5: Procedures Using Conventional Equipment andPerformance-Based Navigation TechnologiesFigure 6: Status of GAO NextGen-Related RecommendationsMade to FAA, Fiscal Years 2008–2016Figure 7: Status of Department of Transportation Office ofInspector General’s NextGen Recommendations Made toFAA, Fiscal Years (FY) 2008–2016Highlights Figure: Expected Improvements under the NextGeneration Air Transportation SystemFigure 1: Improvements to Phases of Flight Expected under theNext Generation Air Transportation SystemFigure 3: Federal Funds the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)Has Received for Next Generation Air TransportationSystem (NextGen) Programs and Activities, Fiscal Years2007 through 2016Figure 4: The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) AnnualUnmanned Aircraft Systems Sightings, 2014 through2016Figure 6: Status of GAO NextGen-Related RecommendationsMade to FAA, Fiscal Years 2008–2016Figure 7: Status of Department of Transportation Office ofInspector General’s NextGen Recommendations Made toFAA, Fiscal Years (FY) DS-BAutomatic Dependent Surveillance-BroadcastPage iiGAO-17-450 Air Traffic Control Modernization
AIMMATCATNATOAVSCATM-TCSS-WxCIODACData CommDOTDOT BPBNRE&DRTCASOASWIMTAMRTBFMTFDMTMAUASWake RecatPage iiiAeronautical Information Management Modernizationair traffic controlAeronautical Telecommunications NetworkAir Traffic OrganizationOffice of Aviation SafetyCollaborative Air Traffic Management-TechnologiesCommon Support Services-WeatherChief Information OfficerDrone Advisory CommitteeData CommunicationsDepartment of TransportationDepartment of Transportation’s Office of Inspector GeneralFederal Aviation Administrationfacilities and equipmentEn Route Automation ModernizationEnterprise Risk ManagementGlobal Positioning SystemJoint Planning and Development OrganizationNextGen Advisory CommitteeNational Airspace SystemNext Generation Air Transportation SystemNextGen Performance SnapshotsNational Airspace System Voice SystemNextGen Weather ProcessorOffice of Inspector GeneralOffice of Management and BudgetPerformance-Based Navigationresearch, engineering and developmentformerly known as the Radio Technical Commission forAeronauticsService Oriented ArchitectureSystem Wide Information ManagementTerminal Automation Modernization and ReplacementTime Based Flow ManagementTerminal Flight Data ManagerTraffic Management Advisorunmanned aircraft systemsWake Turbulence Re-CategorizationGAO-17-450 Air Traffic Control Modernization
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441 G St. N.W.Washington, DC 20548LetterAugust 31, 2017The Honorable Bill ShusterChairmanThe Honorable Peter DeFazioRanking MemberCommittee on Transportation and InfrastructureHouse of RepresentativesThe Honorable Frank LoBiondoChairmanThe Honorable Rick LarsenRanking MemberSubcommittee on AviationCommittee on Transportation and InfrastructureHouse of RepresentativesThe U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) handles nearly 70,000 flights aday and is generally considered the safest, busiest and most complexairspace system in the world. 1 Key aviation stakeholders—the FederalAviation Administration (FAA), airlines, airports, general aviation,business aviation, aircraft manufacturers, and aviation professionals—work together to ensure these results. As part of this effort, FAA is leadingthe development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System(NextGen), a complex, long-term initiative that will transition the currentground-based radar air-traffic control system to a system based onsatellite navigation, automated position reporting, and digitalcommunications. NextGen is intended to, among other things, increaseair transportation system capacity, enhance airspace safety, reducedelays experienced by airlines and passengers, save fuel, and reduceadverse environmental impacts from aviation. Full implementation ofNextGen requires investment by the federal government through FAA, aswell as by airlines in new technologies and the development of newpolicies and procedures.1The National Airspace System is a shared netw ork of U.S. airspace; air navigationfacilities, equipment, and services; airports or landing areas; aeronautical charts,information, and services; rules, regulations, and procedures; technical information; andmanpow er and material.Page 1GAO-17-450 Air Traffic Control Modernization
LetterIn December 2003, Congress passed the Vision 100—Century of AviationReauthorization Act, which created the Joint Planning and DevelopmentOrganization (JPDO) within FAA to plan for and coordinate aninteragency effort to transition to NextGen by 2025.2 However, FAA hasbeen largely responsible for implementing the policies and systemsnecessary for NextGen to become operational. In 2014, with NextGenimplementation underway, Congress ended funding for JPDO, and FAA’sInteragency Planning Office assumed lead responsibilities forcoordinating FAA’s NextGen implementation with other agencies. 3We have monitored and reported on NextGen since its inception. 4 Aftermore than a decade of planning and implementation, you asked us toreview the status of FAA’s NextGen implementation efforts. This reportexamines: (1) how FAA has implemented NextGen and addressedimplementation challenges; and (2) the challenges, if any, that remain forimplementing NextGen, and FAA’s actions to mitigate those challenges.To address these objectives, we reviewed FAA planning documents forNextGen and FAA reports and briefings related to ongoing NextGenefforts. We also assessed current cost estimates for implementingNextGen through 2030 and compared them to 2007 estimates fromJPDO. We reviewed reports and NextGen-related recommendationsissued by GAO, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office ofInspector General (DOT OIG), and NextGen advisory groups; andassessed FAA’s efforts to address these recommendations. Weinterviewed FAA officials with a role in implementing NextGen, including2FAA’s partner agencies in the JPDO included the Department of Transportation, theDepartment of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department ofCommerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Office of Scienceand Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. Vision 100—Century ofAviation Reauthorization Act, Pub. L. No. 108-176, §§ 709-710, 117 Stat. 2490, 2582(2003).3The Interagency Planning Office is located w ithin the Office of NextGen and coordinatesw ith agencies such as the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.4See, for example, GAO, National Airspace System: Transformation Will Require CulturalChange, Balanced Funding Priorities, and Use of All Available Management Tools,GAO-06-154 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 14, 2005); GAO, NextGen Air TransportationSystem: FAA’s Metrics Can Be Used to Report on Status of Individual Programs, but Notof Overall NextGen Implementation or Outcomes, GAO-10-629 (Washington, D.C.: July27, 2010); GAO, Next Generation Air Transportation System: Improved Risk AnalysisCould Strengthen Global Interoperability Efforts, GAO-15-608 (Washington, D.C.: July 29,2015).Page 2GAO-17-450 Air Traffic Control Modernization
Letterofficials within the NextGen Office and its Interagency Planning Office, theOffice of Aviation Safety (AVS), and the Air Traffic Organization (ATO).To obtain a diverse set of views, we also interviewed 34 stakeholdersusing open-ended questions to obtain their perspectives on efforts FAAhas made to address challenges that have affected NextGenimplementation. These 34 stakeholders consisted of a non-probabilitysample of aviation experts and officials from airlines, airports, former FAAofficials, research and development organizations, general aviationassociations, labor unions and professional associations, andmanufacturers and service providers. We created an initial list ofstakeholders using internal knowledge of the aviation industry. We furtherdeveloped the list of stakeholders by reviewing NextGen-related literatureand identifying industry stakeholders that have made NextGen-relatedrecommendations to FAA. To determine the common themes that we arereporting on, we conducted a content analysis of the interviewees’responses. The results of our interviews are not generalizable to allindustry stakeholders. For more information on our scope andmethodology, including a listing of FAA divisions and industrystakeholders we interviewed, see appendix I.We conducted this performance audit from November 2015 to August2017 in accordance with generally accepted government auditingstandards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit toobtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis forour findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believethat the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findingsand conclusions based on our audit objectives.BackgroundFAA’s Early Modernization Efforts for Air Traffic ControlFAA has pursued several different modernization efforts for air trafficcontrol (ATC) since FAA’s creation by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. 5These efforts to upgrade the air-traffic control system included theinstallation of a semi-automated air-traffic control system beginning in the5Federal Aviation Act of 1958, Pub. L. No. 85-726, § 301, 72 Stat. 731, 744 (1958). In1966, the previously independent Federal Aviation Agency that the Act created w asrenamed the Federal Aviation Administration and made part of the new Department ofTransportation. Pub. L. No. 89-670, § 3(e)(1), 80 Stat. 931, 932 (1966).Page 3GAO-17-450 Air Traffic Control Modernization
Lettermid-1960s and an air traffic control modernization program beginning in1981. The 1981 modernization program was intended to replace andupgrade the equipment and facilities of the NAS to meet an expectedincrease in traffic volume, enhance the margin of air safety, and increasethe efficiency of the air-traffic control system. The centerpiece of theprogram was the Advanced Automation System, which would replacecomputer hardware and software and controller work stations at tower,terminal, and en-route facilities.FAA restructured the automation program in 1994 after the estimated costto deploy it had tripled, capabilities were shown to be significantly lessthan promised, and delays were expected to run nearly a decade. 6 In1995, we placed FAA’s air traffic control modernization efforts on ourwatch list of high-risk federal programs due to the cost, complexity,criticality to FAA’s mission, and problematic history. 7 By 2003, theestimated cost of FAA’s air-traffic control modernization efforts had grownfrom 12 billion to 51 billion.NextGenIn the early 2000s, the U.S airspace system was experiencing significantcongestion and delays, with about one in every four flights delayed.Additionally, forecasts called for a possible tripling of air traffic by 2025,which raised concerns about the air-traffic control system’s ability tohandle demand. In December 2003, Congress passed the Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, which created the JPDO withinFAA to plan for and coordinate a transition to NextGen by 2025. 8Congress’s goals for NextGen were to improve the level of safety,security, efficiency, quality, and affordability of the NAS and aviationservices; take advantage of data from emerging technologies andintegrate data streams from multiple sources; and accommodate and6This restructuring included cancelling segments of the initial automation program, scalingback others, and ordering the development of less costly alternatives. Three of fivesegments of the Advanced Automation System w ere cancelled, one segment w as scaledback, and another segment w as unaffected.7GAO removed FAA’s air traffic control modernization efforts from the high-risk list in 2009because of its progress in addressing most of the root causes of its pas t problems and itscommitment to sustaining progress in the future. GAO, High Risk Series: An Update,GAO-09-271 (Washington, D.C.: January 2009).8Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, Pub. L. No. 108-176, §§ 709-710,117 Stat. 2490, 2582 (2003).Page 4GAO-17-450 Air Traffic Control Modernization
Letterencourage substantial growth in domestic and internationaltransportation, among other things. Congress assigned the JPDO theresponsibility to develop an integrated plan for NextGen and facilitatecollaboration between FAA and other federal agencies on NextGenefforts. Since passage of the Vision 100 Act, NextGen has evolved from ahigh-level vision developed by the JPDO to detailed plans currently beingimplemented by FAA.9 See appendix II for more detail on FAA’s planningand implementation documents for NextGen.NextGen is a system of systems designed to improve operations in allphases of a flight, through the replacement of the legacy radar-based airtraffic control system with a satellite-based system that includes digitalcommunications, among other improvements. NextGen includes a varietyof programs that deliver specific improvements to the NAS. See figure 1below for some of the improvements to the phases of flight that NextGenis expected to deliver. For example, under enhanced-surface-trafficoperations, a service provided by FAA’s Data Communications programallows an air traffic controller to send flight-departure clearanceinstructions to aircraft electronically, which can expedite clearances andreduce communication errors. Under an improvement to streamline arrivalmanagement, performance-based navigation allows aircraft equippedwith appropriate technology to fly precise paths at reduced power, whichsaves time, conserves fuel, and reduces exhaust emissions. In addition,FAA is deploying some programs that are necessary to implementNextGen programs. For example, the En Route AutomationModernization (ERAM) program replaced the computer s
implementation challenges; and (2) th e challenges, if any, that remain for implementing NextGen, and FAA ’s actions to mitigate those challen ges. To address these objectives, we reviewed FAA planning documents for NextGen and FAA reports and briefings related to ongoing NextGen efforts. We also assessed current cost estimates for implementing
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GAO-16-288 United States Government Accountability Office . United States Government Accountability Office Highlights of GAO-16-288, a report to congressional requesters February 2016 U.S. SECRET SERVICE . The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work .
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GAO studies and policy documents and program evaluation literature. To ensure the guide's competence and usefulness, drafts were reviewed by selected GAO, federal and state agency evaluators, and evaluation authors and practitioners from professional consulting firms. This paper updates a 1991 version issued by GAO's prior Program .
This report is one of two providing Congress with background on the GAO bid-protest process. It analyzes (1) trends in bid protests filed with GAO, (2) why companies protest, (3) the impact bid protests have on acquisitions, (4) the most common grounds for GAO to sustain a protest, and (5) trends in bid protests filed against DOD.
