Synthesis of Information Related to Airport Problems. Topic S03-05. Effective Practices for Preparting Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Benefit-Cost Analysis

Airport Improvement Program authorizing legislation requires that airports applying for funding of capacity-enhancing projects needing more than $5 million in discretionary funds conduct a benefit-cost analysis (BCA).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>Airports filing BCAs must identify aviation benefits accruing as a result of these projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>For larger airports requesting traditional capacity increasing and delay reducing projects, modeling techniques are available and widely used for determining airfield delay, roadway congestion and terminal processing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>These models are routinely used to establish the benefits of the proposed project. For smaller airports, such as non-hub and general aviation airports, delays and congestion on the airfield, roadways, or in terminals are rarely a factor and the benefits of capacity enhancements are much more difficult to quantify.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>Runways, taxiways to accommodate new air services and aircraft types have been left to the experience and ingenuity of the analysts. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidance on quantifying benefits for FAA-funded projects is nearly ten years old and is not well-developed in documenting acceptable processes to estimate difficult to quantify benefits for projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>The litmus test for potential FAA funding (BCA ratio of one or greater) creates a difficult hurdle for many capacity enhancing projects whose benefits are difficult to quantify. The objective of this synthesis is to describe successful assessment techniques used by airports in performing BCA to justify funding for hard-to-quantify airport projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>The audience for this synthesis is airport staff tasked with performing project BCA.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><font size="3"> </font></o:p></p>

• Record URL:
  http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2388

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $25000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 11-03, Topic

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591

  Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001
• Project Managers:

  Staba, Gail

• Start Date: 20080401
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20090604
• Source Data: RiP Project 15471

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport capacity; Airport operations; Airport runways; Airports; Benefit cost analysis; Improvements; Research projects
• Identifier Terms: Airport Improvement Program
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Aviation; Data and Information Technology; Finance; Operations and Traffic Management; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01462742
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 11-03, Topic
• Files: TRB, RiP, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 2:09PM