According to FAA officials, environmental reviews typically  take from 30 days to 2 years, depending on project factors such as  the presence of sensitive environmental resources (e.g., national  parks) and the potential for significant impacts such as noise or  emissions. To deliver benefits more quickly and avoid  some obstacles that have hampered prior NextGen efforts, FAA has  made trade-offs in selecting sites and the scope of proposed  improvements, concentrating on those projects that can demonstrate  some benefits in the midterm and leaving more time-consuming but  potentially higher benefit-yielding projects for the longer term. The agency  has also made some progress in the other key operational improvement  areas, such as upgrading airborne traffic management to enhance the  flow of aircraft in congested airspace and revising standards to enhance  airport capacity. This initiative is also designed to provide benefits to airlines and airports  in those metroplexes. 5 for an illustration of these procedures.) Concerns  about potential implementation delays also factored into FAA’s  decision about which metroplexes to address in the midterm. Fuel savings, reduced taxiway  congestion, and enhanced safety are among the benefits. FAA is also developing a new surface-management capability system, the  Terminal Flight Data Manager, but does not plan to implement it until at  least 2017, which will likely limit potential midterm benefits. Figure 8 provides examples  of key additional or revised standards that FAA is pursuing through  2018. FAA has a number of efforts under way to help overcome previously  identified, overarching obstacles to NextGen implementation, such as  streamlining processes and updating the air traffic controller handbook   Many of these efforts are scheduled to  and procedure design criteria.take a number of years, particularly when proposed changes must be  evaluated to ensure that they will maintain, if not enhance, the system’s  current level of safety. Some, such as those aimed at increasing  stakeholder involvement in planning and implementation of PBN  procedures, do not, however, fully address previously identified obstacles. Flight Procedure Implementation Process Is Being Streamlined, but Impact Will Not Be Known for Several Years

FAA and others have identified the process for developing PBN and other  new flight procedures as a challenge. FAA Has Limited Data to Demonstrate Midterm NextGen Benefits, and More Information Is Needed in NextGen Plans

		Performance Metrics Are Being Developed and Linked to Targets

FAA has made some progress developing performance metrics, which we  recommended that the agency do in 2010. Information on Some Costs and Benefits Is Available, but Insufficient to Encourage Airline Investments in the Midterm

FAA has begun to report on implementation progress and benefits at  certain airports and metroplexes, as well as for some capabilities, but  implementation and benefits information is incomplete. is currently equipped. FAA has estimated that total industry  equipage could cost $6.6 billion—compared to $11.5 billion in NextGen  implementation costs for FAA—through 2018. Conclusions

The implementation of NextGen is expected to enhance safety, improve  efficiency, and result in a reduction in the environmental costs of aviation. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help ensure that NextGen operational improvements are fully  implemented in the midterm, we recommend that the Secretary of  Transportation direct the FAA Administrator to take the following five  actions: work with airlines and other users to develop and implement a system  to systematically track the use of existing PBN procedures; develop processes to proactively identify new PBN procedures for the  NAS, based on NextGen goals and targets, and evaluate external  requests so that FAA can select appropriate solutions;  require consideration of other key operational improvements in  planning for NextGen improvements, including PBN projects at  metroplexes such as OAPM, as well as the identification of unused  flight routes for decommissioning; develop and implement guidelines for ensuring timely inclusion of  appropriate stakeholders, including airport representatives, in the  planning and implementation of NextGen improvement efforts; and assure that NextGen planning documents provide stakeholders  information on how and when operational improvements are expected  to achieve NextGen goals and targets. DOT responded by email and did not  agree or disagree with our recommendations, but provided technical  clarifications, which we incorporated into the report as appropriate. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objective was to assess the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA)  progress implementing key Next Generation Air Transportation System  (NextGen) operational improvements in the midterm and demonstrating  benefits from these improvements. To do so, we addressed the following  questions: 1) What key operational improvements is FAA pursuing to  deliver NextGen benefits with existing technologies through 2018? 3) To what extent is  FAA measuring and demonstrating midterm NextGen benefits and  assessing outcomes? We also interviewed aviation stakeholders and experts  with knowledge and experience related to NextGen implementation:  representatives from industry associations, including RTCA, Airlines  for America, and the Airports Council International–North America; airlines, including Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines, which have  both advocated for the increased use of Performance Based  Navigation (PBN) procedures; airports involved in OAPM efforts in North Texas and Southern  California, in the Greener Skies over Seattle (Greener Skies)   initiative, and in surface improvement efforts for airports in New York  and New Jersey; avionics and aircraft manufacturers and other aviation vendors,  including Boeing, Honeywell, and Raytheon; and air traffic controllers with the National Air Traffic Controllers  Association (NATCA) and at individual air-traffic control facilities,  including facilities involved in the OAPM effort in North Texas and the  Greener Skies initiative. To determine how FAA is addressing known obstacles to the  implementation of NextGen operational improvements, we identified  obstacles and challenges to developing, implementing, or fully using key  NextGen improvements primarily from findings and recommendations  made by the RTCA task force and an FAA study on obstacles to PBN  implementation. Although some of the performance metrics contained in this  table have been established, FAA may continue to refine these metrics to  ensure that the measurements align with agency targets and goals.
Why GAO Did This Study

FAA, collaborating with other federal agencies and the aviation industry, is implementing NextGen, an advanced technology air-traffic management system that FAA anticipates will replace the current ground-radar-based system. At an expected cost of $18 billion through 2018, NextGen is expected to enhance safety, increase capacity, and reduce congestion in the national airspace system. To deliver some of these benefits in the midterm, FAA is implementing operational improvements using available technologies. Delivering midterm benefits could build support for future industry investments, but a task force identified obstacles, such as FAA's lengthy approval processes.
GAO was asked to review FAA's midterm NextGen efforts. GAO examined (1) key operational improvements FAA is pursuing through 2018, (2) the extent to which FAA is addressing known obstacles to the implementation of NextGen operational improvements, and (3) the extent to which FAA is measuring and demonstrating midterm benefits. GAO reviewed FAA documents, as well as the task force's recommendations to FAA, and interviewed FAA and airport officials and aviation experts.

What GAO Found

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is pursuing key operational improvements to implement the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) in the "midterm," which is 2013 through 2018. These improvements focus on establishing Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedures at key airports, but benefits could be limited in the midterm. PBN uses satellite-based guidance to improve air-traffic control routes (known as "procedures"). These procedures can deliver benefits to airlines, such as fuel savings and increased efficiency, particularly in congested airspace. To deliver benefits more quickly, FAA made trade-offs in selecting sites and in the scope of proposed improvements. For example, FAA is not implementing procedures that will trigger lengthy environmental reviews. These trade-offs, with which airlines and other stakeholders generally agree, will likely limit benefits from these PBN initiatives early in the midterm. FAA has also made some progress in other key operational improvement areas, such as upgrading traffic management systems and revising standards to improve aircraft flow in congested airspace. However, FAA has not fully integrated implementation of all of its operational improvement efforts at airports. Because of the interdependency of improvements, their limited integration could also limit benefits in the midterm.
FAA has efforts under way to help overcome overarching obstacles to NextGen implementation identified by an advisory task force, but challenges remain, and many of these efforts are scheduled to take a number of years. FAA efforts include, for example, a new process for focused and concise environmental reviews for some proposed actions (e.g., new procedures), where a detailed analysis of the environmental impacts is limited to only those categories involving potentially significant impacts, such as increased noise or emissions. Some of these efforts do not, however, fully address previously identified obstacles. FAA has not fully addressed obstacles to selecting new PBN procedures that will best relieve congestion and improve efficiency, for example. FAA continues to rely on requests for new procedures from airlines and other stakeholders. This reliance may or may not result in procedures that maximize benefits to the national airspace system. Not addressing remaining challenges could delay NextGen implementation and limit potential benefits.
FAA has made progress in developing NextGen performance metrics, but according to key stakeholders, FAA currently provides limited data to demonstrate its progress in implementing midterm improvements and the associated benefits. FAA is in the process of harmonizing performance metrics across all agency programs to ensure that metrics align with agency targets and goals. However, information is incomplete on the midterm improvements and their benefits at selected airports, and airlines and others lack access to needed information to make fully informed investment decisions. FAA has developed a website to report on NextGen implementation, but published information is not fully tied to FAA's implementation goals. FAA's plans also provide limited information about future implementation, such as locations and expected benefits. Better performance and planning information would provide airlines with a stronger basis for making decisions to invest an estimated $6.6 billion on NextGen technology through 2018.

What GAO Recommends

FAA should, among other things, better integrate NextGen efforts; develop processes for selecting new PBN procedures; and ensure that stakeholders have needed information on NextGen progress to facilitate investment decisions. DOT did not agree or disagree with GAO's recommendations, but provided technical comments.