American Civil Aviation Infrastructure Is In Dire Need Of A “Smart” Uplift

Now many years in the making, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 landed on President Biden’s desk and was signed a few weeks ago. The legislation calls for $1.2 trillion in overall spending and sets aside $25 billion in much-needed funding that includes $15 billion for airport infrastructure grants, $5 billion for airport terminal programs and $5 billion for Federal Aviation Administration facilities and services.

However, while the infrastructure bill provides some relief, and in fairness, the federal government is not primarily responsible for our nation’s airports, which rely on complex funding mechanisms, more work needs to be done, especially with nearly 3 million passengers daily passing through U.S. airports and demand expected to continue increasing. The U.S. civil aviation industry estimates that American airports need more than $115 billion in maintenance and repairs over the next five years. As the Biden administration itself acknowledged, “The United States built modern aviation, but our airports lag far behind our competitors. According to some rankings, no U.S. airports rank in the top 25 of airports worldwide.” This point is underscored by the American Society of Civil Engineers in its 2021 report card for American aviation, which it grades a D+.

So, aside from modernizing/replacing aging runways and air traffic-control systems, what new, continued or additional investment will give the industry its strongest lift?

Easing congestion. As stated in the American Society of Civil Engineers 2021 report card cited earlier, prior to COVID-19, U.S. domestic airports were facing growing capacity challenges contributing in part to a total of nearly 96 million delay minutes for airline passengers in 2019, as terminal, gate and ramp availability didn’t meet the needs of a growing passenger base. When the number of arriving flights exceed the number of gates available, planes must circle the airport, dawdle on the taxiway or wait in the “penalty box” for the departing plane to vacate their gate. Regardless, gate-waiting delays often translate into cascading and compounding flight delays across the system. Passengers are further annoyed by waiting areas that lack adequate seating, free wi-fi, enough electrical outlets and other amenities. Increasing gate capacity to match actual demand will go a long way toward improving the travel experience and reducing unnecessary operational expenses for carriers.

Building smart airports. From facial recognition to other biometrics, artificial intelligence, automation systems and technology investments can help speed passengers through the various checkpoints. If “getting there is half the fun,” and airports and private investors are investing in amenities that make airports interim destinations, they also must focus on mitigating traveler friction resulting from laborious airport experiences. “REAL ID” compliance, for example, frankly strikes me as an outdated solution relative to the hyper digital era we’re currently in. More automated, intelligent and real-time technology will not only be more effective and efficient at ensuring safety, but will also enable a more seamless and enjoyable airport experience.

Expanding interconnectivity. With so many passengers catching short-haul flights that add to airport congestion, one mitigating tactic might be to offer more attractive, convenient alternatives. We may finally see the flying cars (aka air taxis) we’ve long been promised. These vehicles, capable of vertical takeoffs and landings, can not only quickly transport people to nearby hubs and may be less vulnerable to compounding flight delays, but they also can transport people between airports in a particular city (e.g., between LaGuardia, Newark and JFK airports in the New York metropolitan area). Powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, they will also help reduce our aggregate carbon footprint. Similarly, investments in intermodality and high-speed rail will indirectly reduce airport congestion and aircraft emissions/noise pollution, especially when aircraft and trains are integrated in intermodal systems. 

Increasing sustainability. As part of the Biden administration’s goal to make U.S. civil aviation net carbon neutral by 2050, significant advances will be needed in sustainable aircraft fuel (“SAF”) production. Research shows carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by approximately 80% with SAF. Rolls-Royce recently demonstrated how SAF could power its Trent 1000 turbofan engine for a Boeing 747 and said it will make these engines fully SAF-compliant by 2023. United Airlines recently completed its first passenger flight in history using 100% SAF. Ground-support vehicles and other airport infrastructure also merit greater investment, more so if the electrified versions’ needs can be supplied by solar panels atop airport terminals. Studies show these systems can provide enough energy for airports to be self-sufficient and perhaps return power to nearby grids. India’s Cochin International Airport, for example, runs entirely on electricity produced by a solar farm.

The last new airport in the U.S. opened a quarter of a century ago in Denver—six years before the terrorist attacks on 9/11. We likely can’t build our way out of this problem, at least not by constructing new airports. Not only is the land in metropolitan areas scarce, but substantial construction costs and lengthy permitting processes also present significant, if not prohibitive, challenges. However, New York’s LaGuardia Airport redevelopment and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport expansion show us what’s possible and what’s required—pragmatic, blue-sky thinking. Making airports viable and sustainable for the remainder of the 21^st century will require the same level of ingenuity and innovation that made powered flight possible in the first place.