NextGen Defined
The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is a transformation of the US National Airspace System (NAS), including the national system of airports, using 21''st'' century technologies to ensure future safety, capacity and environmental needs are met. NextGen will be realized through coordinated efforts by the FAA and the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Commerce, as well as NASA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
FAA's NextGen Implementation Plan defines this agency's path to NextGen. The Plan contains firm, fully-funded commitments to near-term operational changes, new airport infrastructure, and improvements to safety, security, and environmental performance. The Plan's management process ensures these will be delivered in a timely fashion. The FAA and its partners are also undertaking research, policy and requirements development, and other activities, to support decisions on additional operational changes that could be delivered in the mid-term (2012-2018). The goal of this Plan is to turn these proposals into commitments, and to guide them into use.