Sec. 742. NextGen programs
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Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and periodically thereafter as the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration determines appropriate, the Administrator shall convene Administration officials to evaluate and expedite the implementation of NextGen programs and capabilities. In allocating amounts appropriated pursuant to section 48101(a) of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary of Transportation shall give priority to the following activities:
Performance-based navigation. Data communications. Terminal flight data manager. Aeronautical information management. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall fully implement performance-based navigation procedures for all terminal and enroute routes, including approach and departure procedures for covered airports. Pursuant to paragraph (1), the Administrator shall prioritize the following performance-based navigation procedures:
Trajectory-based operations. Optimized profile descents. Multiple airport route separation. Established on required navigation performance. Converging runway display aids. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall issue such regulations as may be required, and publish applicable advisory circulars, to establish the equipage baseline appropriate for aircraft to safely use performance-based navigation procedures. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall fully implement the use of data communications.
In carrying out subsection
(a)and this subsection, the Administrator shall prioritize the following data communications capabilities: Ground-to-ground message exchange for surface aircraft operations and runway safety at airports. Automated message generation and receipt. Message routing and transmission. Direct communications with aircraft avionics. Implementation of data communications at all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The Future Air Navigation System. Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall replace the traffic flow management system with the flow data management system at covered airports. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall implement electronic flight strips, at a minimum, at the air traffic control towers of covered airports and all terminal radar approach control and air route traffic control centers. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall fully modernize the aeronautical information management systems of the Federal Aviation Administration to improve the functionality, useability, durability, and reliability of such systems used in the national airspace system. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall— improve the distribution of critical safety information to pilots, air traffic control, and other relevant aviation stakeholders; fully develop and implement the Enterprise Information Display System; and notwithstanding a centralized aeronautical information management system, restructure the back-up systems of aeronautical information management systems to be independent and self-sufficient from one another. If the Administrator determines that the Administration has not or will not meet a deadline established under subsection (a), (c), (d), or (e), the Administrator shall, not later than 30 days after such determination, notify the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate about the failure to meet the target deadlines. A notification under paragraph
(1)shall be accompanied by the following: An explanation as to why the agency will not or did not meet the target deadlines described in such paragraph. A description of the actions the Administration plans to take to meet the target deadlines described in such paragraph. If the Administrator is required to provide notice under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall provide the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate bimonthly, in-person briefings as to the progress made by the Administration regarding implementation under the respective subsection for which the target deadline will not or was not met until such time as the Administrator has completed the required work under such subsection. The Administrator shall consult and task the NextGen Advisory Committee with providing recommendations on ways to expedite, prioritize, and fully implement NextGen programs to realize the operational benefits of such programs. In providing recommendations under paragraph (1), the NextGen Advisory Committee shall consider— air traffic throughput of the national airspace system; daily operational performance, including delays and cancellations; and the potential need for performance-based operational metrics related to NextGen programs. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall terminate the use of the term Next Generation Air Transportation System or NextGen to describe any air traffic control modernization program of the Administration. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to— terminate any program of the Administration, including a program that has previously been represented as being a component of the Next Generation Air Transportation System or NextGen in budgetary submission or document of the Administration; or prohibit the Administrator from maintaining materials that relate to or reference programs that have previously been represented as being a component of the Next Generation Air Transportation System or NextGen. In this section, the term covered airports means the 40 airports in the United States with the highest number of annual aircraft operations, as of the date of enactment of this Act.