Agenda Date: 01/15/2019
Subject:
Title
FAA NextGen Denver Metroplex Update
Body
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Presented By: |
Robert Olislagers, Executive Director Centennial Airport |
REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION:
None - this is an informational presentation.
BACKGROUND:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proceeding with the implementation of NextGen in the Denver Metroplex. This presentation will provide an overview of the basis for NextGen and how communities like Littleton can be involved in determining the final outcomes of its implementation.
What is NextGen?
NextGen is the FAA-led modernization of the nation's air transportation system. Its goal is to increase the safety, efficiency, capacity, predictability, and resiliency of American aviation. This overhaul brings together innovative technologies, capabilities, and procedures that improve how passengers fly from departure to arrival. Airlines, general aviation operators, pilots, and air traffic controllers gain better information and tools that help passengers and cargo arrive at their destinations more quickly, while aircraft consume less fuel and produce fewer emissions. This transformation is being achieved through an ongoing rollout of improvements which began in 2007. NextGen remains on target to have all major components in place by 2025.
At any given time there are over 5,000 aircraft airborne in the United States including 26,000 commercial flights per day serving 2.6 million passengers.
Denver is one of 12 metroplexes in the United States that is working through the process of NextGen implementation. Why is this important? The NextGen project significantly improves safety and capacity in areas where it is applied and while this is a great benefit, there are also changes that will take place in the airspace surrounding Denver. Traffic routed into and out of Denver International Airport (DIA) will be congregated in new paths, and traffic to smaller airports will have different routing as well. Within our “neighborhood,” Centennial Airport is most impacted. It is the second busiest non-commercial airport in the United States with over 286,000 operations per year. DIA is the 20th busiest airport in the world and fifth in the U.S. The proposed routing puts more aircraft in the airspace in the south Metro area.
The FAA is redesigning airspace and addressing inefficiencies, introducing new Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedures, and making use of Time Based Flow Management (TBFM) to make the Denver Metroplex airspace more efficient and improve access to its airports. The effort focuses on a number of airports, including Centennial (APA), Rocky Mountain Metropolitan (BJC), and Denver International (DIA) as well as smaller airports in the Front Range.
The FAA has adopted a structured process for executing Metroplex projects. The process includes multiple opportunities for public involvement as the agency proceeds through the design, required environmental analysis, and implementation of procedures. Some public involvement meetings will be informational. Others will be public workshops where interested members of the community will be invited to talk with FAA airspace designers to learn about what the agency is doing, ask questions, and find out how the airspace changes might affect their community. The FAA has a structured, publicized method to advertise the workshops, as well as collect public comments.
Mr. Olislagers has served a primary lead in providing community information, discussion, and awareness of the FAA process during the NextGen implementation. There are public and community input opportunities in the near future and this presentation will provide an update on the background and projected path forward with the implementation and how Littleton and other communities can play a role.
Robert Olislagers
Mr. Robert Olislagers serves as Executive Director of Centennial Airport. Mr. Olislagers serves as Director of Developmental Pathways, Inc. He is a 25-year veteran of the industry and has served airports in California and New York before coming to Colorado in 2000. He serves on the board of directors of the American Association of Airport Directors, the International Association of Airport Executives and is 2009 President of the Northwest Association of Airport Executives. He chairs several research projects for the National Academies of Science, Transportation Research Board and is a published author, including one book and numerous articles on aviation, aviation history and security. He serves as Chairman of the Board at HSS Inc. Mr. Olislagers holds bachelor and master's degrees in anthropology from the University at Buffalo, a doctorate in business administration from the University at Santa Barbara, and completed post-graduate studies in National and International Security at the USAF Air War College and Harvard University.
PRIOR ACTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS:
None.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
N/A
OPTIONS/ALTERNATIVES:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACTS:
N/A
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
N/A
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
N/A