here is a saying in aviation that a mile of highway gets you one mile, but a mile of runway gets you anywhere. It’s an adage that the FAA is taking to heart as it prepares to deal with an expected sharp increase in commercial air travel in the years ahead. The addition of new runways at major airports across the country–euphemistically referred to as “laying concrete”–has become a top priority for the agency in light of internal forecasts that are predicting a nearly 70-percent increase in commercial air activity by 2020.
The White House was concerned enough about runway capacity to issue an executive order last year that streamlines permits and removes environmental barriers for major transportation projects. DOT Secretary Norman Mineta promptly listed a new runway for Philadelphia International Airport as among the federal government’s first initiatives. And of the 35 biggest airports in the country, 19 are now in various stages of planning and development to expand capacity, with four new runways opening this year alone in Denver, Houston, Miami and Orlando, Fla.
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