A 2013 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that the FAA made limited progress in modernizing the air transportation system through its NextGen initiative, with ongoing challenges reducing expected benefits. The report highlights the FAA's Greener Skies project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, initiated by Alaska Airlines, which aimed to shorten flight paths and route aircraft over water to save fuel, but excluded certain eastern flight procedures due to community concerns about aviation noise. The report notes that the full benefits of new flight procedures depend heavily on how often airlines and pilots actually use them.Open full document
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This GAO report evaluates the FAA’s progress in implementing the NextGen air transportation system during the midterm period. It examines Performance Based Navigation (PBN) initiatives including the Optimization of Airspace and Procedures in the Metroplex (OAPM) program and the Greener Skies project, identifying ongoing challenges such as excluded sites, missing design criteria, and low usage rates of new procedures. The report finds that while some progress has been made, expected benefits are limited by implementation obstacles and stakeholder concerns.