Airport Improvement Program: Military Airport Program and Reliever Set-Aside Update

GAO discussed the status of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set-asides for: (1) the Military Airport Program (MAP), established to convert military airports located in congested areas to civilian use; and (2) reliever airports, intended to reduce congestion at commercial airports and provide additional access to airports. GAO noted that: (1) several airports participating in MAP did not meet the congressionally established program goals and used their funds for projects that could have been funded through other FAA grants; (2) FAA has tightened eligibility criteria and required all airports participating in MAP to submit plans for conversion- and capacity-related projects specific to MAP; (3) the conditions for the reliever airport set-aside no longer exist, since there has been a decrease in general aviation traffic, access to general aviation facilities is adequate, and reliever airports lack the facilities to accommodate larger general aviation traffic; and (4) FAA has agreed to reexamine the criteria for designating reliever airports, but has not yet issued a report or alternative selection criteria.