Although the FAA’s consolidation plans are evolving, a
number of near term actions could better position the
Agency for success. These actions include incorporating
lessons learned from prior consolidation efforts,
developing metrics to identify and track anticipated
benefits, and determining how best to keep Congress and
other stakeholders informed as the effort progresses.
Current Facilities and Airspace To Be Transferred:
Liberty Integrated Control Facility - TRACONs within the
New York Center’s airspace, including the New York and
Philadelphia TRACONs - Airspace at or below 30,000 feet
from the New York Center
Lincoln Integrated Control Facility - TRACONs within the
Chicago Center’s airspace, including the Chicago and
Milwaukee TRACONs - Airspace at or below 30,000 feet
from the Chicago Center
Northeast Integrated Control and High-Ops Facility -
TRACONs within the Boston Center’s airspace - Airspace
at or below 30,000 feet from the Boston Center. - The
facility will be co-located with operations from the New
York and Boston Centers that control airspace at or
above 31,000 feet, along with oceanic operations.
Great Lakes Integrated Control and High-Ops Facility -
TRACONs within the Cleveland Center’s airspace,
including the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit TRACONs
- Airspace at or below 30,000 feet from the Cleveland
Center. - The facility will be co-located with
operations from the Chicago and Cleveland Centers that
control airspace at or above 31,000 feet.
The FAA’s Decisions Regarding the First Site Have Been
Delayed. The FAA has pushed its decision to approve
construction for the first facility from November 2012
to May 2013. This is primarily due to delays in
selecting a site for the facility and tight funding
limits called for in its recently passed
reauthorization. The FAA officials noted that the delay
will affect the FAA’s schedule for consolidating other
locations within the first segment, though the impact
has not yet been determined.
The FAA’s decision involves determining complex
operational, logistical, and workforce aspects of the
consolidation, including the facility’s airspace
boundaries and total operating positions, the size of
the building, the total number of controllers,
technicians, and other employees working at the
facility, the automation and other equipment to be
installed, transition schedules for existing facilities
to move to the new building and workforce-related
issues.
Technical decisions for the first integrated facility
will impact the current modernization plan. The FAA
modernization plans are based on the current facility
set-up for en route centers and TRACONs not consolidated
or integrated facilities. According to FAA, the Agency
is in the early stages of defining the technical
requirements for an integrated facility and making
decisions about major acquisitions.
These decisions will impact the Agency’s future
modernization plans and budgets, including NextGen. For
example, the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM)
program is currently being deployed to 20 en route
centers, including locations in the Northeast where the
first integrated facilities could be built. However, FAA
has not made changes in its Capital Investment Plan, and
the full extent of the changes will not be known until
FAA solidifies its plans for the integrated facilities.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association President
Paul Rinaldi reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to
a collaborative relationship with the FAA and
modernization of the National Airspace System (NAS)
during testimony before the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Subcommittee.
While Rinaldi emphasized the collaborative relationship,
he stressed to the Subcommittee that facility
realignments must be part of a comprehensive plan and
must be accomplished with inclusion of the agency’s
frontline workforce and without compromising safety and
efficiency, reducing services or increasing the cost of
the NAS.
“It is NATCA’s position that realignments should be
implemented only when the realignment has a clear
objective, quantifiable efficiency gains and a sound
business case evaluating each proposal,” said Rinaldi.
“While realignment may play a role in modernizing
facilities with NextGen capabilities, realignments and
automation upgrades are two separate issues. Automation
systems can be housed in any type of building whether
they have been realigned or not.”
“NATCA is committed to collaboratively working with the
FAA to ensure safety and efficiency of the NAS. We
recognize the current FAA leadership has made a
commitment to collaborative effort in the planning,
development and implementation of safety and technology
programs, and NATCA has seen the FAA make progress in
numerous areas, but there are specific items where NATCA
recommends more movement.”
“In the past, the FAA unilaterally identified and
implemented realignments. Those actions did not produce
its stated objectives. Moving forward, stakeholders must
be involved in each decision to realign facilities under
a comprehensive plan. Stakeholders can offer their
expertise in, among other things, data analysis, which
may or may not lead to the conclusion that realignment
is the correct way to proceed, but will always lead to
the best outcome for the flying public and the American
taxpayer.”
“The FAA must develop a strategic approach to
realignments that examines the entire system and the
operational efficiency of existing and planned airspace.
The NAS cannot be altered as a patchwork of systems that
are built independently.”
“The FAA must establish transparent metrics to
determine the success or failure of realignments.
The agency must consistently conduct
post-consolidation business analysis using
repeatable metrics, and publicly report the outcome
of these analyses.”
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