NextGen for Airports, Volume 3: Resources for Airports (2016)

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Introduction | 1 Introduction1 What Is NextGen? The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is a set of technology modernization programs and procedure changes being developed and implemented over the next 15 years with the goal of improving the operation of the National Airspace System (NAS). NextGen began in December 2003 with the Vision 100 Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.1 Among its first goals were to . . . take advantage of data from emerging ground-based and space-based communications, navigation, and surveillance technologies; . . . integrate data streams from multiple agencies and sources to enable situational awareness and seamless global operations for all appropriate users of the system. . .2 The FAA has primary responsibility for NextGen development and implementation, through a Next- Gen headquarters (FAA/ANG) office separate from both Air Traffic Operations (ATO) and the FAA Air- ports headquarters office (FAA/ARP). The FAA publishes online information covering both the NextGen and Airport information that is referenced in the following sections. Although the FAA is leading the NextGen public investment effort, NextGen success depends on many aviation users and service providers. NextGen programs affect various stakeholders in different ways. For example, in Figure 1-1, the FAA investments in NextGen performance-based navigation (PBN) pro- cedures must be coupled with aircraft operator equipage in satellite-based navigation equipment, and accurate airport geospatial data to enable implementation. Importantly, this has an impact on airport communities through noise, and airport operators need to seek out plans of such changes, via the FAA websites, in order to provide the best outcome for the airport. As examples of practical impacts, air traffic controllers are getting new computers and displays for air traffic control (ATC) that can display global positioning system (GPS)–based reports transmitted by air- craft using automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) transceivers; aircraft owners can equip their aircraft with avionics to display electronic airport information and maps, approach and departure procedures, weather maps, and air traffic maps; and all stakeholders, including airports, can have ac- cess to real-time system status and weather information. Infrastructure changes, combined with programs, procedures, and technologies, could potentially enable individual airport improvements, such as increased capacity multiple runway operations (MRO) and optimization of airspace and procedures for multi-airport Metroplexes.3 Airport personnel should be aware of these coming changes, which may be both beneficial and chal- lenging, in order to participate in the public conversation, take advantage of technologies that will 1FAA, A Brief History of the FAA, www.faa.gov/about/history/brief_history. 2Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, Public Law 108–176, December 12, 2003. 3A metroplex is a system of airports in proximity, along with their shared airspace, serving one or more major cities.

2 | RESOURCES FOR AIRPORTS benefit the airport, make sure the airport meets current FAA NextGen technology requirements or standards, and notify their communities of the changes. This guidebook explains what NextGen is, what it does, the changes it brings, and the advantages it gives aviation users and providers. It also identifies, in layman’s terms, ways that NextGen could affect airports. Moreover, because NextGen is a complex and ever-changing subject, this guide highlights major NextGen programs focusing on near-term FAA programs, procedures, and technologies, while describing long-term planning (beyond 5 years) in more general terms. This guidebook, which is intended to present a high-level introduction to NextGen, is one of an ACRP series of five ACRP NextGen reports; the other four are listed below: 1. ACRP Report 150: NextGen for Airports, Volume 1: Understanding the Airport’s Role in Performance- Based Navigation: Resource Guide 2. ACRP Report 150: NextGen for Airports, Volume 2: Engaging Airport Stakeholders: Guidebook 3. ACRP Report 150: NextGen for Airports, Volume 4: Leveraging NextGen Spatial Data for Airports: Guidebook 4. ACRP Report 150: NextGen for Airports, Volume 5: Airport Planning and Development Online Information Sources FAA: The FAA maintains an extensive array of online NextGen information that can be easily accessed using a web browser. For example, the query “FAA NextGen” brings up links to both a NextGen overview site, NextGen_Overview (https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/), and a NextGen Resources site, NextGen_Resources (https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/library/). The latter contains useful links to infor- mation on the NextGen infrastructure technologies, the NextGen Implementation Plan, and other NextGen related documents. The site https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/qanda/airports/ features airport- related questions and answers, and a further link to a “NextGen Works for Airports Brochure.” It also Figure 1-1. The FAA makes NextGen investments and creates mandates, which interact in complex ways and have a domino-like impact on airports.

Introduction | 3 features “NextGen Priorities,” NextGen_Priorities (https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/priorities/), which includes status information on NextGen progress. Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA): The FAA has established a joint government/ industry Federal NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) managed by RTCA, Inc. to foster industry col- laboration on NextGen priorities and implementation. The link, NAC (http://www.rtca.org/nac) leads to the NAC site with links to NAC activities, membership, documents, and other information. The site also has links to other RTCA committees and RTCA documents. NASA: NASA has been heavily involved for several years with developing aviation technologies related to NextGen. A “NASA NextGen” internet search leads to sites at NASA headquarters and NASA Ames Research Center. NASA research is focused on mid- and long-term technologies leading to gate-to- gate trajectory-based operations (TBO).4 The NASA technical reports server at NASA_Tech_Reports (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp) can be used to search and download NASA reports. Conference Papers: Several organizations hold conferences and publish papers related to NextGen, including the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Of particular note are 11 USA/Europe Air Traffic Management Research and Development Seminars, ATM_Seminars (http://www.atmseminar.org/), that include presentations and papers from researchers from both the U.S. and abroad, many describ- ing NextGen technologies in a research and measurement view. The papers and presentations from past seminars are all available online. Regulatory Material: Aviation, including airports, is regulated by federal law primarily through Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). Information available online includes the federal law, FAA orders, FAA advisory circulars, and other FAA guidance documents. Table 1-1 contains links to websites with links to airport-related regulatory information. NextGen programs have generated, and continue to generate, changes to the body of regulatory code describing the conduct of aviation. Table 1-1. Regulatory websites. TOPIC WEBSITE AIRPORT RELATED Federal law Federal_Code (https://www. gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/ USCODE-2011-title49/ USCODE-2011-title49- subtitleVII-partA-subparti- chap401-sec40101) Title 49, Transportation, Part B - Airport Development and Noise, Part D – Public Airports Federal regulations Federal_Regs (http://www. ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID =adcd42bf1eae8417436c76 5b02aae2f8&mc=true&tpl=/ ecfrbrowse/Title14/14tab_02. tpl) Title 14, Aeronautics and Space, Chapter 1, FAA, Subchapter I, Airports FAA orders FAA_Orders (https://www. faa.gov/regulations_policies/ orders_notices/) Link to Airport-related FAA Orders [Searching performance-based navigation generates links to PBN orders and notices produced by the FAA Aviation Safety (AVS) Flight Standards (AFS) and ATO Mission Support (AJV)] 4Time is sometimes substituted for trajectory signifying the shift from physical to time-based separation management.

4 | RESOURCES FOR AIRPORTS TOPIC WEBSITE AIRPORT RELATED FAA advisory circulars FAA_Advisory_Circulars (https://www.faa.gov/ regulations_policies/ advisory_circulars/) Links to 150-series airport circulars What NextGen Does NextGen affects the NAS by modernizing the computers, automation, and electronics for communi- cations, navigation, and surveillance with the goal of enabling new functions, setting a path for new technologies, enabling more efficient routes, and making other changes. For example, before Next- Gen, the NAS used only radar positioning for aircraft because air traffic computers could only accept radar inputs. New automation allows both radar and GPS position information. NextGen is a very large program for the FAA, which has taken and will continue to take a major share of its capital investment plan budget through 2025. Two-thirds of the FAA’s annual budget of $15 bil- lion is spent keeping equipment operating and employing 15,000 air traffic controllers. The remaining funds are spent almost equally on new acquisitions such as NextGen and on-airport capital improve- ment projects. The NextGen computer replacement at 22 en route centers alone costs more than $2 billion.5 Thus, the frequent news coverage of NextGen is partly because it occupies the attention of FAA headquarters. However, NextGen is projected to save much more than $2 billion for various users. The projected benefits and effects of NextGen fall into several categories: Flight efficiency improvements, Fewer flight delays in bad weather with equivalent or improved safety, Environmental emissions benefits, Electronic data benefits and requirements, Fuel-saving flight trajectories and noise impacts, Metroplex airport access, and Deferred capital improvements. Flight Efficiency One reason for the attention paid to NextGen is that it is expected to increase flying efficiency and save fuel. In 2014, at 27 percent, fuel was commercial operators’ single largest cost.6 In that year, U.S. airlines spent nearly $30 billion on fuel.7 Since 2014 fuel prices have dropped, but fuel remains a sig- nificant and demonstrably unstable cost item. Historically, the general aviation (GA) community pays nearly twice the price for a gallon of fuel than that paid by the commercial airlines. When fuel prices rise, requests for direct routing by GA pilots rise by a third, according to a National Business Aircraft Association study. Facilitating more direct routings and fuel-efficient airport arrivals and departures is a goal of new routes planned under NextGen. 5U.S. Department of Transportation, “Budget Estimates Fiscal Year 2013, Federal Aviation Administration,” Committee Reports of the 113th Congress (2013–14), House Report 113-136, Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. 6Airlines for America, U.S. Passenger Airline Cost Index (PACI), 2014. 7Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Airline Fuel Cost and Consumption (U.S. Carriers—Scheduled), www.transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp. Table 1-1. Continued

Introduction | 5 Fewer Flight Delays with Equivalent or Improved Safety From 2008 to 2013 FAA data indicated that weather caused 69% of delays greater than 15 minutes.8 In terminal areas, this often-quoted statistic means that ATC did not have an approach to use under the prevailing weather conditions that was able to maintain airport throughput, resulting in increased delay. This is particularly the case when independent operations to parallel runways that occur in visual conditions revert to single runway operations in instrument conditions. NextGen MRO technologies can reduce the current loss of capacity that occurs in bad weather and low-visibility conditions by enabling use of closely spaced parallel runways in marginal and instrument meteorological conditions. For single runways, GPS-based navigation approaches may provide an affordable way to improve airport all-weather operations and support improved airline schedule reliability for airports not hav- ing instrument landing systems (ILS) due to cost or challenging terrain, because the GPS-enabled approaches can provide both straight-in and curved precision approaches to new runways without the requirement for localizer (lateral) and glide slope (elevation) equipment.9 The use of ADS-B Out technology will provide air traffic controllers with radar-like surveillance capability for certain airports currently without radar coverage. As part of NextGen, the FAA has mandated ADS-B Out equipage for all aircraft operating in certain controlled airspace, including all major airports, but ADS-B Out equi- page is not universal and will likely be less prevalent at smaller GA airports. In lieu of ADS-B, wide-area multilateration (WAM) technology that interrogates current non-ADS-B transponders to provide radar- like surveillance has been deployed at a few smaller airports where mountainous terrain prevents radar surveillance. Environmental Emissions Impact More efficient en route and terminal flight paths reduce fuel burn and carbon dioxide emissions per flight. In addition, the growing use of bio-based jet fuels reduces aviation’s net carbon dioxide contri- bution to the atmosphere per pound of fuel burned. Some new programs reduce ground taxiing and queuing time benefitting local air quality, again through reductions in fuel burn. Electronic Data Benefits and Requirements Electronic maps with accurate data showing the airfield layout, obstructions, flight tracks, and other data from the FAA, airports, local agencies, and vendors are converging to give airport operators, pilots, FAA procedure designers, and air traffic controllers greater situational awareness through an ac- curate common operating picture.10 For improved surface operations in low-visibility conditions, airports that do not already have an elec- tronic map (indicating all physical features, including obstructions and markings) may have to create one as part of their airport master plan. Airports are responsible for submitting and updating an airport layout plan to reflect the configuration of the airfield, as well as notices to airmen (NOTAMs) when op- erational changes occur. When new flight procedures are designed or runway configurations changed, airports must submit specific safety-critical data. Increasingly, these data are submitted in an electronic form via the FAA’s Airports Geographic (a.k.a., Geospatial) Information System (GIS) Program. Some airports may choose to place or require transponder equipment on vehicles to improve surveillance, tracking, and safety on the movement area. 8FAA FAQ: Weather Delay: https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/. 9Precision approaches include both lateral and vertical guidance, while non-precision approaches only provide lateral guidance. 10For in-depth information on the many implications of electronic geographic mapping, see ACRP Report 150, NextGen for Air- ports, Volume 4: Leveraging NextGen Spatial Data for Airports: Guidebook. See also the FAA GIS website, http://www.faa.gov/airports/ planning_capacity/airports_gis_electronic_alp/.

6 | RESOURCES FOR AIRPORTS Fuel-Saving Flight Trajectories and Noise Impacts Airports need to be prepared to work with the FAA and notify the community about changes in air routes that can change community aircraft noise. The process the FAA follows in changing NextGen airspace trajectories has differed from the environmental and public notification processes airports follow when undertaking projects such as new runways or airfield improvements. The FAA is autho- rized by public law to use a categorical exclusion (CatEx) environmental process for certain NextGen projects. The CatEx process assumes that environmental impacts are minimal and does not require formal public notification barring “extraordinary circumstances.”11 With PBN procedures, total noise exposure and emissions can be reduced, but air routes shift, noise impacts change, and communi- ties have complained. A January 24, 2015, Associated Press article regarding new procedures, that redirected departures over the historic section of downtown Phoenix, reported the FAA position that the new procedures that have caused complaints “cannot be reverted back to the original routes,” and that city council members were recommending that the city should consider filing a lawsuit and a historic preservation complaint.12 On March 29, 2016, the FAA issued FAA Order 1050.1, Guidance Memo, “Guidance for Implementation of the Categorical Exclusion in Section 213(c)(2) of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012,” which states that public notification provisions apply to this CatEx.13 The memo states that, “Collaboration with airport operators and public notification should include provision for appropriate community outreach that not only informs the affected public of the FAA’s proposal, but also allows the public to provide feedback on community concerns.” ACRP Report 150: NextGen for Airports, Volume 2: Engaging Airport Stakeholders: Guidebook (ACRP Project 01-28), is a reference for this outreach, as are the outreach materials mentioned in this guidebook.14 Metroplex and Single Airport Access NextGen-enabled trajectory changes are designed to create more efficient routes to reduce delay and fuel consumption for aircraft arriving and departing from both the major and non-major airports in a multi-airport Metroplex. Improved navigation accuracy based on route area navigation/required navigation performance (RNAV/RNP) flight paths could increase the number of routes into and out of the terminal airspace by allowing separate arrival and departure fixes for Metroplex airports that currently share a common fix, which could potentially increase both arrival and departure capacity at the airports. This capability has been applied to operations at Dallas-Ft. Worth and Dallas Love airports, and Chicago O’Hare and Chicago Midway airports. RNAV (GPS) approaches can be developed for runways with or without existing ILS. As of May 26, 2016, there are 3,678 wide-area augmentation system (WAAS) localizer performance with verti- cal guidance (LPV) approach procedures serving 1,790 airports. 1,041 of these airports are non-ILS airports.15 These approaches provide back-up for ILS outages and new capability for non-ILS runways. Airport operators should understand, though, that air carrier aircraft are not normally equipped with WAAS receivers that permit LPV approach procedures. In contrast, high-end GA and business aircraft operators are frequent users of this technology. 11Council on Environmental Quality, A Citizen’s Guide to the NEPA, December 2007, pp 8-10. 12“FAA says Phoenix Sky Harbor flight paths cannot be reverted,” Associated Press, ktar.com/22/1801635/FAA-says-Phoenix-Sky- Harbor-flight-paths-cannot-be-reverted. 13FAA Order 1050.1 Guidance Memo, Guidance for Implementation of the Categorical Exclusion in Section 213(c)(2) of the FAA Mod- ernization and Reform Act of 2012, March 29, 2016. 14See also ACRP Report 15: Aircraft Noise: A Toolkit for Managing Community Expectations, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2009; ACRP Report 85: Developing and Maintaining Support for Your Airport Capacity Project, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2013; ACRP Synthesis 17: Approaches to Integrating Airport Development and Federal Environmental Review Processes, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2009. 15FAA Website, Satellite Navigation – GPS/WAAS Approaches, https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/ service_units/techops/navservices/gnss/approaches/.

Introduction | 7 Deferred Capital Improvements Certain NextGen operational improvements expected to increase airport capacity, such as MRO and reduced aircraft separations, could defer or eliminate the need for capital improvements such as new runways and taxiways. Moreover, a particular capital improvement, such as a new runway, would be made much less expensive if it could be moved closer to adjacent existing runways, thereby poten- tially reducing the need for expensive demolition of facilities or property acquisition. Resource Guide Organization NextGen currently encompasses more than 100 separate program, technology, and procedure changes, some directly affecting airports, others indirectly, and others not at all. This guide addresses potential airport impacts and includes background information so that airport personnel can discern which NextGen programs will impact them and how. The remainder of this guide is organized as follows: Chapter 2 describes the NextGen development and implementation “architecture,” dividing the pro- grams into four major groups. It explains NextGen changes in the context of the history of navigation. Chapter 3 contains tabular fact sheets about major NextGen programs, portfolios, and technologies, with an analysis of impacts on airports. The tables identify the what, why, how, who, where, and when of each major NextGen program. They also identify what airports can do to take advantage of the program. Chapter 4 highlights how NextGen programs will affect some airports more than others, emphasizing how they impact non-hub and GA airports. Chapter 5 lists points of contact for airports to find more information about NextGen and when it may impact each airport. It also describes how environmental assessments (EAs) for NextGen programs dif- fer from environmental review processes followed by airports. Appendices A and B provide abbreviations used in the guide and a glossary of NextGen terms. Appendix C is the Public Information Toolkit.