OEP Metropolitan Areas
Summary Description | Background | Operational Capability Description
Timeline | Benefits | Dependencies | FY08 Activities
The Metropolitan Area solution set will track individual airport expansion efforts as well as regional and multi-modal efforts for the 15 regions identified in this wedge.
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Fifteen metropolitan areas account for 58 percent of all passenger activity and almost 15 percent of the aircraft based in the U.S. Over the next 20 years, these 15 metropolitan areas are expected to experience significant population gains and economic growth1. Meeting the demand for aviation in these areas will require continued emphasis on airport expansion along with innovative approaches such as regional solutions and multi-modal planning.
Operational Capability Description:
While each of the metro areas contains an OEP airport (improvements tracked under OEP Airports wedge), this solution set focuses on enhancements at other high activity airports in the region that will improve each metropolitan area's ability to efficiently accommodate future aviation demand. Table 1 identifies the 15 metropolitan areas and the number of airports that the FAA will be monitoring in each metropolitan region. The FAA will work with local authorities, airport sponsors, and state aviation agencies to: examine existing airport infrastructure; evaluate the impact of currently planned enhancements such as a new runway or taxiway, a major runway extension or significant apron expansion; and identify additional activities with the potential to increase capacity or efficiency or reduce delays. The complete list of airports in the metro areas, referred to as metro airports, is posted on the OEP web site. In addition, the FAA will work with local and regional authorities to examine regional solutions to improve airport capacity and reduce delay.
Table 1: Metropolitan Areas
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Shaded rows indicate 7 metro areas identified as needing additional capacity in 2015 if planned improvements do not occur.
Table 2: Metropolitan/Regional Planning Efforts
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Table 3: Other Planning Studies
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- Airport arrival capacity for major metro areas : Airfield projects at a Metro Airport will improve the capacity, efficiency, or access to the NAS .
- Airport arrival efficiency rate : Airfield projects have the ability to improve the flow of traffic from the en route airspace to the terminal airspace.
- Improve capacity, efficiency, and access in metropolitan areas by monitoring and funding development projects at high activity airports in the metropolitan areas.
During FY 2008, the FAA will monitor and report on infrastructure enhancements that will improve capacity, reduce delays, or improve access at the airports identified in the 15 metropolitan areas. The FAA will monitor and report on the status of several regional studies; undertake a study to examine a multi-modal approach to solve capacity limitations in high-density corridors on the east and west coasts; and undertake follow-on activities associated with FACT 2.
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1The FAA's report titled , Capacity Needs in the National Airspace System (2007-2025) , also known as FACT II released in 2007 modeled future demand based on traffic forecasts and regional economic and demographic trends. This system-wide analysis identified 15 metropolitan areas that will need additional capacity by 2025 if the existing airfield configurations remain constant without any capacity enhancements beyond routine maintenance.
