The Airport Improvement Program and Airport Planning Process

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The Airport Improvement Program and Airport
Planning Process
Piervittorio FarabbiAir Support
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The aim of this presentation is, by illustrating
the FAA Airport Planning Process and Federal
Airport Improvement Program, to stir attention on
the systematic use of simulation modelling in
large airport project planning
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The Airport Improvement Program
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What is the Airport Improvement Program?The
Airport Improvement Program (AIP) provides grants
to public agencies--and in some cases, to private
owners and entities--for the planning and
development of public-use airports that are
included in the US National Plan of Integrated
Airport System (NPIAS)
How much of the project cost does the grant
cover?The Federal share of eligible costs for
large and medium primary hub airports is
75--with the exception of noise program
implementation, which is 80. For remaining
airports (small primary, relievers, and general
aviation airports) the participation rate is
90.
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What is the history of the AIP?The US Federal
Government embarked on a grants-in-aid program
promote the development of a system of airports.
The early program was authorized by the Federal
Airport Act of 1946 and drew its funding from the
general fund of the U.S. Treasury.In 1970, a
more comprehensive program was established with
the passage of the Airport and Airway Development
Act of 1970. This Act provided grants for airport
planning development under federal programs
funded from a newly established Airport and
Airway Trust Fund (recipient of revenues from
several aviation user taxes) The current
program, was established by the Airport and
Airway Improvement Act of 1982, and since then it
has been amended several times. Funds obligated
for the AIP are drawn from the Airport and Airway
Trust Fund which is supported by user fees, fuel
taxes and other similar revenue sources.
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What airports are eligible?AIP grants for
planning, development, or noise compatibility
projects are associated with individual
public-use airports, such indicating those
airports open to the public that are Publicly
owned, or Privately owned but designated by
the FAA as a reliever, or Privately owned but
having scheduled service and at least 2,500
annual enplanements. Further, to be eligible
for a grant, an airport must be included in the
NPIAS. The NPIAS, prepared and published every 2
years, identifies public-use airports considered
to provide a safe, efficient, and integrated
system of airports to meet the needs of civil
aviation, national defense, and the Postal
service.
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What types of projects are eligible?Eligible
projects include those improvements related to
enhancing airport safety, capacity, security, and
environmental concerns. In general, sponsors
(recipients of grants) can use AIP funds on most
airfield capital improvements or repairs except
for terminals, hangars, and non-aviation
development. Any professional services that are
necessary for eligible projects--such as
planning, surveying, and design--are eligible as
is runway, taxiway, and apron pavement
maintenance. Aviation demand at the airport
must justify the projects, which must also meet
Federal environmental and procurement
requirements.
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What types of projects are eligible?
(follows)Projects related to airport operations
and revenue-generating improvements are typically
not eligible for funding, as well as operational
costs. Eligible Projects Ineligible
ProjectsRunway construction/rehabilitation Mainte
nance equipment and vehiclesTaxiway
construction/rehabilitation Office and office
equipment Apron construction/rehabilitation Fuel
farms Airfield lighting Landscaping Airfield
signage Artworks Airfield drainage Aircraft
hangars Land acquisition Industrial park
development Weather observation stations
(AWOS) Marketing plans NAVAIDs TrainingPlanni
ng studies Improvements for commercial
enterprises Environmental studies General
Aviation Terminal Buildings Safety Area
improvements Automobile parking lots Airport
Layout Plans (ALPs) Maintenance or repairs of
buildings Access roads located on airport
property Removing, marking and lighting hazards
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How does the FAA determine which projects will
receive AIP funds?Because the demand for AIP
funds exceeds the availability, the FAA bases
distribution of these funds on present national
priorities and objectives. AIP funds are
typically first apportioned into major
entitlement categories such as primary, cargo,
and general aviation. Remaining funds are
distributed to a discretionary fund. Set-aside
projects (airport noise and the Military Airport
Program) receive first attention from this
discretionary distribution. The remaining funds
are true discretionary funds that are distributed
based on a national prioritization formula.
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Annual Authorization Historical AIP
authorization levels from FY 1982 through FY
1994, and future levels for FY 1995 and FY 1996
are as follows
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Airport Categories The airport categories are
defined as follows Commercial Service
Airports are publicly owned airports with at
least 2,500 enplanements/year and scheduled
passenger service. Primary Airports are
commercial service airports which have more than
10,000 enplanements/year. Cargo Service
Airports are airports served by cargo-only
flights a total annual landed weight of more than
100 million pounds. Reliever Airports are
airports designated by the FAA to relieve
congestion at a large commercial service
airport. The remaining airports are referred
to as GA airports.There are 400 primary, 140
commercial service, 300 reliever, and almost
2,500 GA airports included in latest published
NPIAS.
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The Airport Planning Process
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Latest Advisory CircularAC No 150/50XX
Subject the AIRPORT SYSTEM PLANNING
PROCESSDate May, 2004 Purpose This Advisory
Circular (AC) provides guidance for use in
accomplishing effective airport system planning
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Letter of Intent (LOI) Policy The policy states
the FAA will consider requests for LOI's at
primary or reliever airports only for airside
development projects with significant capacity
benefits.The FAA will consider three factors in
reviewing requests for LOI's - project's
impact on the air transportation system
capacity- project benefit and cost- airport
sponsor's financial commitment, including project
timing.Under the proposed LOI policy, the FAA's
decision to approve an LOI will be based
primarily on a benefit/cost analysis.
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Airport system plan project development can be
divided into three major components approach
scoping and implementation
Airport System Plan Project Approach The FAA
is to be consulted on the initial findings
defined by the planning agency and on the
determination as to what work will be
accomplished by the planning agency in-house and
what by a consultant.
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Airport System Plan Project ScopingThese steps
include preparation of scope of work and project
schedule, examination of interstate
considerations, determination of methodologies to
be used, and detailing preparation of airport
capital improvement plans.Each of these steps
occurs prior to the AIP grant application process.

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Airport System Plan Project ImplementationThe
final component in airport system plan project
development is the series of steps that lead to
implementation.

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Work Scope, Coordination Plan, and ScheduleIn
the section 407 of the mentioned AC, as part of
the scoping effort, there is a direct reference
to the use of simulation modelling.A basic
airport system plan scope of work may include a
wide range of items (). Airport system plan
projects should include only those elements or
activities required to produce a plan that meets
the needs of the planning agency and that will be
beneficial in the development of a viable system
of airports.The list items to be included in
the scope of work includesAcquisition,
licensing, and use of commercially available
computer software including simulation models and
other applications, when required for an approved
planning purpose

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Work Scope, Coordination Plan, and Scheduleas
well asAnalysis of airfield, terminal area,
and surface access to determine airport capacity
values, identify causes of delay, analyze
alternatives, or provide input to a capacity
enhancement plan and Analysis of airspace
capacity, based on the availability of air
navigation aids, communication facilities, and
the presence of natural or man-made obstructions
that affect the use of airspace this analysis
should be limited to that needed to support
airport system development

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Work Scope, Coordination Plan, and ScheduleIn
the section 409 of the mentioned AC, there are
additional detailed indication on the
Methodologies to be UsedThe airport system
planning process should be thorough and
analytical. There should be no ambiguity in its
analysis and recommendations, since these may be
used to justify project entry in the NPIAS or in
prioritizing airport project development.
Where possible, the use of established tools
and methods, such as FAAs forecast or
benefit/cost analysis methodologies, is
encouraged.

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Work Scope, Coordination Plan, and Scheduleand
again Various airfield simulation models are
available for analyzing airfield capacity and
delay, including SIMMOD, ADSM and RDSM from the
FAA. When a daily schedule of aircraft
operations is entered, these models provide
estimates of airfield delay for various runway
configurations and airfield improvements.
Advisory Circular 150/5060-5, Airport Capacity
and Delay, also provides simpler methods for
determining the annual capacity of an airfield.

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Question!Is the use of simulation modelling
included as mandatory in the airport planning
process currently handled in Italy/Europe?