America's Crumbling Infrastructure

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), May, 1999 by Daniel S. Turner

AVIATION

Although the U.S. aviation system is in fair shape today, it faces extreme peril in the near future without reorganization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and rising investment in airport facilities and air traffic technology. Increasing air travel threatens to cripple the system if it is not significantly updated and expanded. This can endanger the economy, impact on Americans' personal safety and travel time, and translate into higher ticket prices.

Conditions. Passenger enplanements in the U.S. are expected to climb 3.9% annually from 546,200,000 in 1997 to 827,100,000 in 2008, the FAA forecasts. At current capacity, this added air traffic will lead to gridlock as early as 2004 or 2005, according to a report by the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC). The U.S. would need 10 new airports the size of Chicago's O'Hare to meet these capacity demands, suggests the Airport Council International, North America.

The number of aircraft delays of 15 minutes or more was 18.9% higher in 1996 than in 1995, and the delays appear to be getting longer, the NCARC indicates. The FAA says there are 22 airports that are seriously congested, and that this number will rise to 32 in less than 10 years with the current investment rate. Airline delays in 1995 cost the industry about $2,500,000,000 in higher operating costs, the FAA estimates. This raises ticket rates and draws funds from needed investment in updated air traffic control systems. The NCARC also has warned that there will be a large airliner accident every seven to 10 days by the year 2010 if air travel increases and the airline accident rate remains at current levels, which, although low, has not improved in 30 years.

The American Association of Airport Executives and the Airports Council International, North America have assessed the investment need at $60,000,000,000 for airport development and reconstruction over the next five years. The FAA has placed the cost at $32,700,000,000 during the next four years.

Solutions. Airport funding from the aviation trust fund (airline ticket taxes), passenger facility charges, airport bonds, and state/local grants reached $7,060,000,000 in 1996. However, the burden of funding has shifted away from Federal grants to increased passenger facility charges and bonds in recent years.

The NCARC recommended an overhaul of the FAA's budget, organization, and management to help improve airport facilities and safety, including freeing the agency from the Federal discretionary budget by directly funneling money from aviation user fees to the FAA. This allows funding to be driven by actual demand. The commission also called for cost-based user charges, increased investment in air traffic control modernization, the use of more state-of-the-art technology, transforming the FAA into a performance-based organization, and increased Federal funding through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP).

Another solution is to model the AIP after the highway program by designating a high-priority national airport network and a second, more broad network of airports which has significant national interest, much like the Interstate Highway System and the National Highway System. This would help focus funding on priority projects and improve U.S. economic competitiveness, the Congressional Research Service notes.