HOUSTON-The Fourth National Aviation System Planning Symposium was held in Houston in late March. The symposium was co-hosted by The Transportation Research Board and Texas Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division; and was held in conjunction with the FAA’s Annual General Aviation Forecast Conference. Texas Aviation Director David Fulton, along with the division’s Planning and Programming Director Linda Howard and her staff, contributed significantly to making this symposium a great success.
Participants included consultants, researchers, airport managers, industry representatives, state officials from 17 state aviation agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO).
The event covered a wide range of aviation system planning topics-current issues facing system planners today, to the challenges as well as the opportunities they will face in the 21st century. Specific presentations included forecasting challenges and techniques; how funding is addressed in the system planning process; state aviation challenges and opportunities; aviation growth challenges; regional airport systems; the national priority system; military base closures; and capital investment case studies. Panel sessions and workshops were also held throughout the conference.
Gordon Bethune, President and CEO of Continental Airlines, was the luncheon speaker and gave participants an inside view of some of the challenges and issues facing the airline industry.
For additional information, contact Linda Howard at (512) 416-4540 or [email protected].