Federal Aviation Administration Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2008

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Federal Aviation Administration Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2008

Safety is our primary concern. Our efforts, in concert with those of our stake holders, to improve operations have led to the safest period in aviation safety. At the same time, the demand for FAA services has never been greater. We oversee about 50,000 flights per day. In 1995, the system supported about 545 million passengers. In 2005, it was 739 million. Forecasts call for one billion passengers annually by 2015. Given the anticipated growth not only in terms of passengers, but in the number of aircraft as well we know that our services must adapt to meet the demand. We also know that the complexity of the future operating environment with evolving fleet mixes, new aircraft, technology, and the environmental constraints must be approached in partnership with our customers. The preparation for these changes already is well under way. The federal governments commitment to being ready for the future is gathered in one vision, the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). This budget demonstrates a long-term commitment to NextGen, not as pie-in-the-sky vision, but as embodied by tangible systems, processes, and management energy that will lead us to the future. The budget request also emphasizes our need for a stable funding source that is based on our costs and the services we provide. Most of FAAs current funding comes from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which in turn is funded primarily through ticket taxes (and other taxes to lesser extents). All of these taxes are scheduled to expire in September 2007, which coincides with the end of the current authorization for FAA programs under Vision 100.