An efficient and effective air traffic management system is vital to the U.S. transportation infrastructure. Since 1978, when the airline industry was deregulated, the inflation adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by 62 percent. In this same time period, total output of scheduled passenger air transportation (as measured by Revenue Passenger Miles) has increased by 190 percent and total airfreight ton miles have increased by 289 percent. Since 1997, flight delays have skyrocketed - doubling in only four years. These trends are expected to continue. In 1998, airline delays in the U.S. cost industry and passengers $4.5 billion -- the equivalent of a 7 percent tax on every dollar collected by all the domestic airlines combined.