The National Research Council (NRC) assembled a committee under the auspices of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) with a range of expertise and a balance of perspectives on airport related issues. After studying the organization, process, and products of the cooperative research programs for other modes, as well as the research needs of airports, the committee concluded that a national Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) would confer lasting benefits in airport security, efficiency, safety, and environmental compatibility. In its final report, published as TRB Special Report 272, "Airport Research Needs: Cooperative Solutions," the committee urged Congress to establish a program in which airport operators, working with one another and with the various federal agencies, would be involved actively in the identification of problems, the search for practical solutions, and the dissemination of the results. In the Vision 100: Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2003, Congress authorized $10 million per year for ACRP in Fiscal Years 2004 through 2007. Approval of the act, however, came too late for the appropriation of funds for Fiscal Year 2004. The annual federal appropriation process will determine ACRP funding in Fiscal Year 2005 and beyond. In the interim, the Federal Aviation Administration is working with the airport operator and user communities and TRB to elicit research needs and to establish the structure for program governance and management.
Abstract