In 1998, FAA and the aviation community agreed to a phased approach for implementing the free flight program, established a schedule for phase 1, and created a special program office to manage this phase. FAA plans to make an investment decision in March 2002 about whether to proceed to phase 2. FAA is currently revising its computer-based training to provide more realistic simulations. FAA officials maintain that these capabilities will be deployed before the end of phase 1. However, FAA might not be in a position to make an informed decision on URET because the schedule might not allow time to collect sufficient data to fully analyze the expected benefits from this tool during phase 1. This report discusses (1) the significant technical and operational issues that could impair the ability of the free flight tools to achieve their full potential and (2) the extent to which these tools will increase efficiency and capacity while helping to minimize delays in our nation’s airspace system.
Why GAO Did This Study

This report reviews the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) progress on implementing the Free Flight Program, which would provide more flexibility in air traffic operations. This program would increase collaboration between FAA and the aviation community. By using a set of new automated technologies (tools) and procedures, free flight is intended to increase the capacity and efficiency of the nation's airspace system while helping to minimize delays.

What GAO Found

GAO found that the scheduled March 2002 date will be too early for FAA to make an informed investment decision about moving to phase 2 of its Free Flight Program because of significant technical and operational issues. Furthermore, FAA's schedule for deploying these tools will not allow enough time to collect enough data to fully analyze their expected benefits. Currently, FAA lacks enough data to demonstrate that these tools can be relied upon to provide accurate data.