US Department of Transporation FY2011 Budget Highlights

USA's Department of Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, released highlights from the DoT's Fiscal Year 2011 budget including:

• USD14 million for the FAA to hire 82 new safety and certification inspectors and safety technical specialists;
• USD1.1 billion to implement the NextGen air traffic control system, an increase of USD275 million over the FY 2010 Enacted levels:
  • Area Navigation / Required Navigation Performance: FAA will use an increase of USD25 million to improve arrival and departure procedures giving air traffic controllers more flexibility to manage traffic through the most congested airports;
  • Air-to-Ground Data Communications: USD153 million for data communications, an increase of USD106 million over FY 2010. FAA will use the additional funding to accelerate the transition from the current voice-based communication system to a data communication system;
  • Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast: USD176 million is included for the implementation of satellite-based surveillance capabilities. This will provide a more complete picture of airspace conditions and more accurate position data. [more - DoT Highlights] [more - AAAE Comment] [more - Comments by LaHood] [more - ACI-NA Comment]