Air Traffic Control: Role of FAA's Modernization Program in
Reducing Delays and Congestion (10-MAY-01, GAO-01-725T).
This testimony discusses the Federal Aviation Administration's
(FAA) modernization of the nation's air traffic control (ATC)
system and its relationship to the initiatives under way to
address the escalating crises of insufficient capacity facing the
aviation industry. Specifically, GAO reviews the (1) extent of
the delay and congestion problems and the contribution of the ATC
system to them, (2) progress and problems encountered in FAA's
ATC modernization program, and (3) importance of a continued
focus on delivering ATC equipment and on human capital issues as
policymakers seek to address delays and congestion. GAO found
that the national airspace system (NAS) is facing significant
capacity problems. Last year, more than 25 percent of nationwide
flights were canceled, delayed or diverted. These actions
affected 163 million passengers who, on average, were delayed
almost an hour. Inefficiencies in the ATC system contribute to
the delays and congestion. Modernizing equipment, along with
other changes in the ATC system, is expected to help increase the
capacity of NAS between 5 and 15 percent. However, to date,
improvements expected from FAA's modernization program have
fallen short. Although FAA has installed new equipment to provide
the necessary platform for fielding modern technologies to
improve efficiency, this effort has experienced cost, schedule,
and performance problems. As part of this program, FAA has begun
to deploy new technologies to achieve free flight, which will
enable pilots and controllers, under certain circumstances, to
select optimal flight paths, thereby lowering costs and helping
to accommodate more flights in the nation's airspace. To ensue
that the modernization effort if successful, FAA must institute a
performance-oriented culture, which is essential to establishing
a climate of accountability and coordination throughout the
agency. Furthermore, FAA will need to address human capital
issues related to retirement, expected within the decade, of many
aviation industry professionals, such as FAA controllers and
airline mechanics.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-01-725T
ACCNO: A00977
TITLE: Air Traffic Control: Role of FAA's Modernization Program
in Reducing Delays and Congestion
DATE: 05/10/2001
SUBJECT: Air traffic control systems
Commercial aviation
Transportation safety
Systems conversions
Human resources utilization
FAA Advanced Automation System
FAA Air Traffic Control Modernization
Program
FAA Display System Replacement Project
FAA National Airspace System Plan
FAA Standard Terminal Automation
Replacement System
FAA Traffic Management Advisor
FAA User Request Evaluation Tool
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GAO-01-725T
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
Role of FAA?s Modernization Program in Reducing Delays and Congestion
Statement of Gerald L. Dillingham, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues
United States General Accounting Office
GAO Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Aviation
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U. S. Senate
For Release on Delivery Expected at 10 a. m. EDT Thursday May 10, 2001
GAO- 01- 725T
1 Madam Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
We are pleased to be here today to discuss the Federal Aviation
Administration?s (FAA) modernization of the nation?s air traffic control
(ATC) system and its relationship to the initiatives under way to address
the escalating crisis of insufficient capacity facing the aviation industry.
During the past two summers, major delays and congestion at our nation?s
airports have focused attention on the increasing gap between the demand for
and the capacity of the national airspace system (NAS). The NAS includes the
airports, other facilities, equipment, and people involved in providing air
transportation services. The ATC system is the major component of the NAS
and primarily refers to the equipment, technologies, and people responsible
for keeping aircraft safely separated. Reducing delays and congestion in the
NAS is a major challenge because the causes as well as the solutions are
numerous and interconnected.
As policymakers assess potential options for increasing the capacity of the
NAS, it is important to understand FAA?s past efforts to modernize the ATC
system and its ongoing initiatives to deploy new technologies. Our testimony
today, based largely on work that we have done on FAA?s modernization over
the past decade, will highlight (1) the extent of the delay and congestion
problems and the contribution of the ATC system to them, (2) the progress
and problems encountered in FAA?s ATC modernization program, and (3) the
importance of a continued focus on delivering ATC equipment and on human
capital issues as policymakers seek to address delays and congestion. In
summary:
! The NAS is facing significant capacity problems. Last year, more than 1
out of every 4 flights nationwide was canceled, delayed, or diverted. These
actions affected 163 million passengers, who, on average, were delayed
almost an hour. Demand is still growing; FAA forecasts nearly a 59- percent
increase in passenger enplanements from 1999 to 2011. Inefficiencies in the
ATC system contribute to the delays and congestion. Other factors, such as
an insufficient number of runways at some airports and bad weather,
aggravate these problems. Modernizing equipment, along with other changes in
the ATC system, is expected to help increase the capacity of
2 the NAS by between 5 and 15 percent. In addition to this effort, FAA and
the aviation
industry have over 50 initiatives in various stages of implementation to
address delays and congestion.
! Twenty years ago, FAA anticipated significant increases in the nation?s
air traffic and embarked on an ambitious modernization program to help
improve the efficiency of the ATC system and expand the capacity of our
nation?s airspace. Although air traffic has greatly increased, the
improvements expected from this modernization program have fallen short.
While FAA has installed new equipment to provide the necessary platform for
fielding modern technologies to improve efficiency, this effort has
experienced cost, schedule, and performance problems. As part of this
program, FAA has begun to deploy new technologies to achieve free flight,
which will enable pilots and controllers, under certain circumstances, to
select optimal flight paths, thereby lowering costs and helping to
accommodate more flights in our nation?s airspace. However, FAA faces
challenges in implementing these technologies. These include integrating the
technologies with each other and other ATC systems to achieve the synergies
anticipated, as well as determining the impact of using the free flight
technologies on users, including controllers and technicians. Other major
modernization projects being developed to help increase the capacity of the
NAS are also experiencing cost, schedule, and performance problems.
! FAA and the aviation industry recognize the interdependence of the various
components of the NAS- the people, equipment, and procedures- and the need
for cooperation and coordination to effectively implement solutions. In the
future, FAA?s modernization program will continue to be an important part of
the solution; therefore, FAA needs to avoid repeating the past mistakes that
have plagued its program. Although FAA has taken steps to help ensure that
it can deploy new equipment and technologies as planned, it has yet to fully
institute a performanceoriented culture, which is essential to establishing
a climate of accountability and coordination throughout the agency. The new
chief operating officer, who will be responsible for improving the delivery
of air traffic services, should greatly help the
3 agency establish this climate. FAA and the aviation industry will also
need to address
human capital issues related to the retirement, expected within the decade,
of many aviation industry professionals, such as FAA controllers and airline
mechanics.
Background
The National Airspace System (NAS) is a complex collection of systems,
procedures, facilities, aircraft, and people. Because these components are
interconnected and interdependent, they must work together as one system to
ensure safe operations. The principal component of the NAS is the air
traffic control (ATC) system- a vast network of radars; automated data
processing, navigation, and communications equipment; and traffic control
facilities. 1 Through this system, FAA provides such services as controlling
takeoffs and landings and managing the flow of traffic between airports.
Faced with a rapidly growing volume of air traffic and aging equipment to
control it, FAA initiated an ambitious program in 1981 to modernize its ATC
system. Over the past two decades, FAA?s modernization projects have
experienced substantial cost overruns, lengthy delays, and significant
performance shortfalls. Because of the size, complexity, cost, and problem-
plagued past of FAA?s modernization program, we have designated it a high-
risk information technology investment since 1995. 2
In 1998, in collaboration with the aviation industry, FAA revised its
approach to NAS modernization to move from its traditional system of air
traffic control, with heavy reliance on procedures, to a more collaborative
system of air traffic management. FAA
1 FAA uses three types of facilities to control traffic. Airport towers
direct traffic on the ground, before landing, and after takeoff within 5
nautical miles from the airport and about 3,000 feet above the airport.
Terminal radar approach control facilities sequence and separate aircraft as
they approach and leave airports, beginning about 5 nautical miles and
ending about 50 nautical miles from the airport and generally up to 10, 000
feet above the ground. Air route traffic control centers, called en route
centers, control planes in transit and during approaches to some airports.
The airspace that most en route centers control extends above 18,000 feet
for commercial aircraft.
2 FAA?s modernization program is one of four high- risk system development
and modernization efforts. See High- Risk Series: An Overview (GAO/ HR- 95-
1, Feb. 1995), High- Risk Series: Information Management and Technology
(GAO/ HR- 97- 9, Feb. 1997), High- Risk Series: An Update (GAO/ HR- 99- 1,
Jan. 1999), and HighRisk Series: An Update (GAO- 01- 253, Jan. 2001).
4 has begun testing some of the technologies- or tools-- under this new
environment,
known as free flight, which are intended to help improve safety and increase
the efficiency of the NAS. Despite some unresolved challenges, FAA has been
moving aggressively to complete the initial deployment of these technologies
by 2002.
Measuring the capacity of the NAS and achieving its most efficient use are
both difficult challenges because they depend on a number of interrelated
factors. The capacity of the NAS is affected by such factors as the number
and type of aircraft seeking access, weather conditions, flight schedules,
and airports? infrastructure. Achieving the most efficient use of the NAS is
largely contingent on the procedures FAA uses to manage traffic, how well
its equipment performs, and the proficiency of the controllers to
efficiently use this equipment to manage traffic. Under the best of
circumstances, capacity usually meets the demands for service. But, as we
have experienced all too often, whenever any factors diminish capacity,
congestion and delays result.
The National Airspace System Is Experiencing Significant Capacity Problems
The growing demand for air travel has fully taxed the capacity of the NAS,
including the ATC system. Airline passengers are experiencing increasing
flight delays and cancellations from the growing imbalance between their
demands and the ability of the NAS to handle air traffic. Last year, more
than 1 out of every 4 flights nationwide was canceled, delayed, or diverted.
These actions affected 163 million passengers, who, on average, were delayed
almost an hour. FAA reported that 1.9 million passengers moved through the
system daily, and it forecasts a 59- percent increase in the number of
enplanements between 1999 and 2011. Delays and cancellations are also
increasing. In 2000, which was the worst year on record, FAA reported a 90-
percent increase in delays and a 104- percent increase in cancellations
compared with 5 years ago. The imbalance between demand and capacity is most
pronounced during peak flying periods at the major airports through which
major airlines route their flights, commonly referred to as hub airports.
5 Inefficiencies in the ATC system, along with the lack of adequate airport
infrastructure,
airline scheduling practices, and bad weather are among the many factors
contributing to delays and congestion. Some in the aviation industry have
also attributed delays to antiquated ATC equipment. They expect the use of
modern equipment to vastly expand the capacity of the NAS.
While acknowledging inefficiencies in the ATC system, particularly in moving
traffic in and out of the congested airspace around airports, FAA disagrees
with the assertion that aging equipment is to blame for delays. The agency
maintains that in recent years, it has replaced the majority of the
equipment at many of its air traffic control facilities. While it is true
that much of the equipment, especially in the en route centers is modern,
this equipment was expected to be in place much earlier. As for the
expectation that ATC modernization will bring major gains in capacity, FAA
estimates that new equipment, coupled with changes in design and operating
procedures for the airspace, will increase the number of flights nationwide
that can be handled safely between 5 and 15 percent. FAA estimates that the
biggest gain in capacity- between 50 and 55 percent- will come from adding
new runways. While gains attributable to modernization are not as great as
some may have expected, the agency nevertheless acknowledges that they are
important and that it must take action to achieve them.
In this regard, in April 2001, FAA announced a set of initiatives in its
Operational Evolution Plan, which is designed to increase capacity in the
NAS. The agency, in cooperation with the aviation industry, is planning
improvements in designing airspace and aircraft routes and deploying new
technologies, among other actions, to permit more efficient movements and
eventually allow more aircraft to move safely in the NAS. This plan
complements the April 2001 benchmarks of capacity for the nation?s 31
busiest airports. Since over 70 percent of the passengers move through these
airports, the benchmarks allow policymakers to target short- and long- term
solutions at these airports, thereby achieving the biggest increases in
capacity. The aviation industry has also taken steps to address the capacity
crisis. For example, a few of the major airlines have individually adjusted
their flight schedules to even out peaks and have adjusted
6 flight times throughout their system to more accurately reflect gate- to-
gate departure and
arrival times. Collectively, FAA and the aviation industry have over 50
initiatives to help improve the capacity of the NAS in various stages of
implementation. We are reviewing the status of these initiatives and expect
to report on them in the fall of 2001.
FAA Has Fielded Some New Equipment and Technologies, but Several Key Efforts
Still Face Problems
Over the past two decades, FAA has encountered numerous problems in its
ambitious ATC modernization program to acquire new facilities, replace old
equipment, and introduce new technologies. Although FAA replaced the
hardware for the HOST computer system 3 as scheduled in 1999 to preclude
potential Year 2000 problems, many major modernization projects are years
behind schedule and cost more than anticipated. Others have met with
eventual success after FAA restructured them and modified their
requirements. More recently, FAA has taken a number of steps to overcome
past problems with its modernization efforts.
ATC Modernization Is an Ambitious Undertaking ATC modernization, which was
announced in 1981 as a 10- year, $12 billion program, has expanded and is
now expected to cost more than $44 billion through fiscal year 2005. 4 Of
this amount, the Congress appropriated over $32 billion for fiscal years
1982 through 2001. The agency expects that approximately $12 billion will be
provided for fiscal years 2002 through 2005. See figure 1 for an
illustration of how FAA?s appropriation was divided among seven functional
areas.
3 HOST is the en route centers? system for processing flight and radar data
that is displayed on the controllers? workstations. 4 The total cost of
modernization includes appropriations for all actual and projected
facilities and
equipment from fiscal year 1982 through fiscal year 2005 for projects in
FAA?s financial plan.
7
Figure 1: Air Traffic Control Modernization: Funding by Functional Areas,
Fiscal Years 1982- 2001
Dollars in billions Navigation and landing ($ 2.5)
Weather ($ 1.7)
Automation ($ 7.5) Mission support
($ 6.5)
9% 5%
8% 23%
Surveillance ($ 2.9)
Other ($ 2.5)
Communications ($ 3.4)
Facilities ($ 5.2)
8% 20%
16% 11%
Source: FAA.
8 Figure 2 illustrates how FAA?s appropriation was divided by project
status- completed
projects, ongoing projects, canceled or restructured projects, and
personnel- related costs.
Figure 2: Air Traffic Control Modernization: Funding by Project Status,
Fiscal Years 1982- 2001
Dollars in billions (Percentages may not add due to rounding.)
Personnel related costs ($ 2.5)
Canceled/ restructured projects ($ 2.8)
Completed projects ($ 14.7) Ongoing projects
($ 12.1)
9% 7%
45% 38%
Source: FAA.
FAA Has Had Mixed Success in Deploying Key Automation Projects Essential to
Free Flight
A key part of FAA?s modernization program is replacing old equipment that
processes radar and other data and displays this information on controllers?
workstations. This
9 new equipment forms a platform that is essential for FAA to deploy the new
technologies
that automate many of the controllers? functions. Eventually, the synergies
of these technologies will enable FAA to transition from air traffic control
to air traffic management, which will allow more aircraft to safely use the
NAS. The agency estimates that this new equipment and related technologies
will help achieve an increase of between 5 and 15 percent nationwide in the
number of flights that can be safely handled when coupled with changes in
the design and operating procedures for the NAS.
After restructuring the Advanced Automation System- the centerpiece of its
original modernization program- and modifying its requirements, FAA deployed
the Display System Replacement (DSR) project to all 20 en route centers in
2000. 5 However, another project from the restructured centerpiece that will
deploy similar equipment in terminal facilities has encountered major cost,
schedule, and performance problems. As a result, while FAA has not
established a new schedule to deploy this equipment- the Standard Terminal
Automation Replacement System (STARS)- it has indicated that the project?s
development cost will increase by nearly $500 million over its original 1994
estimate of $940 million.
To help mitigate problems with the modernization program, in 1998, FAA began
a phased approach, known as free flight and has begun to deploy some new
technologies. FAA has been demonstrating and measuring the operational
effectiveness of five technologies in phase 1 of free flight. 6 To date, the
surface movement advisor and collaborative decision making tools have been
successfully completed. With regard to the remaining three, demonstrations
have shown that two of these- URET and TMA- have the potential to provide
benefits despite some technical challenges. Because the third tool-
5 The Advance Automation System was designed to provide, among other things,
new workstations for controllers and related hardware and software. In 1994,
FAA restructured the project after the estimated cost had tripled,
capabilities were shown to be significantly less than promised, and delays
were expected to run nearly a decade. DSR is the en route workstation that
graphically displays, on the controller?s screen, the flight plan and radar
data processed by the HOST computer.
6 The five tools being demonstrated in phase 1 (1998- 2002) are
collaborative decision making, surface movement advisor, passive final
approach spacing tool (pFAST), traffic management advisor (TMA), and user
request evaluation tool (URET). Under phase 2 (2003- 2005), FAA will deploy
certain tools to other locations.
10 pFast- has encountered significant technical challenges and FAA is still
developing
STARS- the infrastructure that provides the platform for this tool- the
agency decided not to extend deployment of this tool to additional
facilities in phase 2.
In 1998, as FAA and industry were planning for the deployment of free flight
technologies, we found that FAA faced many challenges in implementing them.
7 Among these challenges were the need for FAA to address outstanding issues
related to technology development and deployment, such as addressing the
impact of modernization on users, principally controllers, and integrating
various technologies that will be used under free flight operations with one
another as well as with other ATC systems. Our preliminary findings and
those of others indicate that FAA still has not fully addressed these and
other challenges.
With respect to determining the impact of free flight tools on controllers,
FAA has not established a clear plan for conducting these assessments. We
agree with FAA, NASA, and air traffic controllers that using free flight
tools will change the roles and responsibilities of controllers-
necessitating a major cultural change. For example, using the TMA tool will
require controllers to move from a common method of separating traffic
according to distance, which relies more on controllers? judgment, to a
method using time, which is more dependent on automated technology. The
traditional method results in less efficient use of the airspace because
controllers often add distance between planes to increase the margin of
safety. Under the newer method of separating traffic, computers will help
controllers balance the arrival flow into terminal airspace by assigning a
certain time for an aircraft to reach a predetermined point. FAA
acknowledges that transitioning to the new method will take time, but has
yet to develop a strategy, including detailed training, to help ensure its
success.
To allow FAA and users to fully exploit the capabilities of free flight
technologies and achieve expected improvements in safety, capacity, and
efficiency, FAA needs to
7 See National Airspace System: FAA Has Implemented Some Free Flight
Initiatives, but Challenges Remain (GAO/ RCED- 98- 246, Sept. 28, 1998).
11 integrate the technologies with one another and with other major ATC
systems. Free
flight technologies are expected to improve the efficiency of operations at
high altitudes, close to the terminal, and on the ground. While these
technologies are generally designed to operate independently of one another
during phase 1, FAA plans to begin integrating them during phase 2 to
achieve their collective synergies. However, FAA still needs to integrate
URET with other major ATC systems, including FAA?s HOST, DSR, and local
communications networks. This integration is key to fully realizing
increases in controllers? productivity. Compounding the complexity of
integration, FAA has been simultaneously upgrading the HOST and DSR software
to increase their capabilities. How well URET will work with these systems
is unknown because FAA has yet to fully test this tool with them. FAA has
developed some of the software needed for integration and has begun testing
the URET software. By the end of August 2001, FAA expects to complete full
testing of URET software in conjunction with major ATC systems. Testing may
uncover the need for additional software modifications, which could increase
costs and could cause the agency to defer planned capabilities.
FAA Has Also Had Problems in Deploying Other Equipment and Technologies FAA
recognizes the importance of projects in three other functional areas-
communications, navigation and landing, and weather- to increase the
capacity of the NAS without compromising safety. After major delays, the
agency has deployed equipment in these areas. For example, FAA has replaced
the voice system used by controllers in the en route centers to communicate
with other controllers and with pilots. The agency has also installed a
weather radar that alerts aircraft in the terminal area of hazardous weather
conditions, such as microbursts, gust fronts, and precipitation. However,
projects in these three areas, which have been under development since the
1980s, have continued to experience numerous technical problems.
In communications, FAA has been developing a way to transition from voice to
data link communications to keep pace with the demand for ATC services,
improve controllers?
12 productivity, and reduce errors in voice communications. The agency has
not finalized
the cost for the data link project but estimates that it will be at least
2003 before it will provide limited capability in this area. To improve
navigation, FAA has been developing a way to transition from a ground- based
to a satellite- based navigation system using the Department of Defense?s
Global Positioning System. Originally, FAA intended to have the initial
system operational by 1997; now FAA estimates that this system will be
available by 2003, but with less capability. To reduce en route air traffic
delays caused by severe weather, FAA has been developing a system to
consolidate weather data from several sources and provide this information
at a single, integrated workstation. Although FAA had planned to complete a
similar project by 1991, FAA now estimates that it will complete the initial
deployment of this project by the end of 2002.
Because of the critical link of the projects noted above to current and
planned efforts to safely expand the capacity of the NAS, future delays
could have a negative impact on these efforts. For example the Automatic
Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, a technology that is intended to provide
pilots with precise information about the location of other aircraft in the
NAS, depends on FAA?s satellite- based navigation system to assure them that
the position information they receive from satellites is accurate. This
satellite- based system also has the potential to help pilots and
controllers prevent accidents on the ground at airports. Continued delays in
FAA?s satellite navigation program could place deployment of important
features of this new surveillance technology in jeopardy.
A Continued Focus on ATC Modernization and Human Capital Issues Is Important
for the Aviation Community to Expand NAS Capacity
Because of the interconnection and interdependence of key components of the
NAS, assessing solutions to the capacity problem is complex. FAA and
aviation industry leaders recognize that most proposed solutions cannot be
implemented in isolation and therefore must be carefully coordinated to help
ensure successful implementation as well as mitigate the risks of potential
unintended consequences. While not the sole
13 solution to the delay and congestion problem, FAA?s modernization program
is
nonetheless an important part of the solution. Its success affects future
projects and the deployment of new technologies to expand the capacity of
the NAS. Furthermore, as policymakers assess options, it is important to
consider whether human capital needs, such as succession planning, are being
adequately addressed.
FAA Has Taken Steps to Address Modernization Problems, but Must Hold
Individuals Accountable and Ensure That They Coordinate Their Actions
Despite efforts to address its modernization problems, FAA still faces
problems in instituting an organizational culture that is accountable for
outcomes and encourages individuals to work together as coordinated teams to
achieve them. Over the past couple of years, FAA?s increased collaboration
with the aviation industry and its phased approach to modernization have
been positive developments and have allowed FAA and the industry to target
specific problems and together develop initiatives to solve them. However,
according to our work and that of others, FAA has not fully instituted the
performance- oriented culture that is a key to the success of modernization
and other agencywide efforts.
The Congress and the aviation community have noted that FAA lacks
accountability for delivering key modernization projects. Recently, the FAA
Administrator has taken steps to assign specific accountability to
individuals who head major offices and to develop agreements to link these
individuals? performance to outcomes. Most likely, the accountability and
expectations for achieving outcomes will be pushed to managers at lower
levels within FAA to increase the likelihood that these employees will
collaborate as teams to achieve outcomes. Such action would be in contrast
to the current situation where major offices still tend to function in
stovepipes that inhibit an integrated team approach to developing and
delivering systems. FAA has identified this integrated team approach as key
to the agency?s efforts to deploy systems that meet performance goals.
14 To increase accountability for delivering air traffic services, in 2000,
the Congress
created the position of chief operating officer. 8 This individual will be
responsible for ATC modernization as well as other agencywide activities and
services related to air traffic. Subsequently, in December 2000, the
administration directed FAA to establish a performance- based organization
that would encompass all of FAA?s functions related to air traffic. FAA is
in the process of establishing this organization, to be headed by the chief
operating officer. This increased attention to accountability, coupled with
changes under way in the performance management system to link pay to
performance, are very positive signs for FAA and should go a long way toward
establishing a climate in which individuals throughout the agency are held
accountable for specific outcomes.
FAA and the Aviation Industry Will Need to Take Steps to Ensure an Adequate
Supply of Well- Trained Aviation Professionals
If steps are not taken now to plan for succession, the retirement of
critical personnel responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the
NAS in the coming decade could negatively affect the ability of FAA and
others to meet future demands for air service. Many of the controllers hired
after the 1981 strike are approaching retirement eligibility. While
estimates of retirements vary, it is generally agreed that by 2010, at least
40 percent of the current controller workforce will be eligible to retire.
The retirement of large numbers of controllers in a relatively short time
frame raises a number of issues. For example, FAA will need to determine (1)
how many controllers will be needed in the future to control traffic, given
increased demand and improved equipment; (2) how many controllers will be
leaving and when; and (3) the source to supply new controllers. Addressing
these issues cannot be deferred because hiring and training new controllers
to be fully proficient with the latest procedures and technologies takes a
significant amount of time. For example, at some of the busiest air traffic
control facilities, it takes up to 5 years for a new controller to go
through the training process and become ?fully
certified.? Therefore, to ensure that it maintains an adequately staffed,
well- trained controller workforce, FAA must plan well in advance for these
retirements.
8 Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21 st Century -
P. L. 106- 181, sec. 303.
15 Likewise, FAA and the airlines face similar challenges with maintenance
technicians and
aircraft mechanics, respectively, who maintain equipment used throughout the
NAS. Given the critical responsibilities that these professionals fulfill,
it is vital that FAA and the industry address these challenges. GAO has
reviews under way to address the human capital issues surrounding succession
planning for these aviation professionals.
_ _ _ _ _ _ FAA?s management of the key initiatives that it has underway,
supported by industry input, will be critical to safely expanding the
capacity of the NAS. Continued congressional oversight is also important to
ensure that FAA meets the challenges presented by the increasing demand for
air travel.
Madam Chairman, this concludes my statement. We will be happy to answer any
questions from you or any Member of the Subcommittee.
Contacts and Acknowledgments
For future contacts regarding this testimony, please contact Gerald L.
Dillingham at (202) 512- 2834. Individuals making key contributions to this
testimony include Jeanine Brady, Pete Maristch, Belva Martin, and John Noto.
(540000)
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