Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Capital Improvement Program Development Process

Abstract

The Airport Capital Improvement Program (ACIP) serves as the primary tool for project planning and formulation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA relies on the ACIP to serve as the basis for the distribution of Aviation Trust Funds under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) through grants made to airport sponsors. The FAA’s ACIP provides the means to systematically identify, prioritize, and assign funds for airport development. The FAA ACIP process is found in law, regulations, FAA Orders, FAA Advisory Circulars, and regional policy and guidance. The guidance provides, in detail, what is required for airport sponsors to obtain federal financial assistance for an AIP eligible project. It became apparent to the Central Region Airports Division that airport sponsors were having trouble understanding the ACIP process by the lack of uniformity, incomplete information, and uncompleted steps found in the financial aid requests. How can the FAA Central Region provide information about the ACIP process to airport sponsors, consultants and stakeholders in a format that is easy to understand? Previous outreach efforts by the FAA to airport sponsors included workshops, seminars, guidebooks, annual letters, and individual explanations of the ACIP process. The FAA must continually educate sponsors and stakeholders through various means about the ACIP process. A new ACIP Data Sheet and a Capital Planning Practices Brochure would provide information in a format that is easy to understand and deliver.