featured project ARCHIVE

Charting the Next Generation Air Transportation System

The demand for air travel is outpacing the capacity of our nation’s air transportation system. In 2004, Congress created the Joint Planning and Development Office to research how to build the next generation air transportation system. The JPDO consists of representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, and Transportation; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Federal Aviation Administration; and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

We are providing analytical support to help the JPDO evaluate the new operational concepts, technologies, procedures, and policies needed to build the next generation system. We are establishing the baseline characteristics of today’s air transportation system, forecasting demand, and estimating the shortfall in performance and the economic cost of failing to meet future growth needs. To date, we have provided a socioeconomic forecast of air travel demand and system capacity, capacity shortfall and economic cost projection, and a series of framework white papers discussing policy options and perspectives, safety issues today and tomorrow, and the effect on the international aviation system. Our work is now being used by senior management to determine the future of our nation’s aviation system.