Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information regarding civilian agencies' use of aircraft for passenger transport.
GAO reviewed 47 specific aircraft and found that the agencies: (1) used 29 configured aircraft for special-purpose missions and 18 for passenger transportation during a 12-month period; (2) used eight of the passenger aircraft primarily for special-purpose missions and secondarily for passenger transportation; (3) used the remaining 10 aircraft primarily for passenger transport, with usage rates ranging from 70 to 93 percent of total flight hours; and (4) frequently used the aircraft to transport passengers to locations that commercial airlines served. GAO also found that the agencies: (1) may not have complied with policies governing initial acquisition and continued justification for use of government aircraft for passenger transport; (2) frequently raised questions or sought clarification regarding these policies; (3) believed that the policies did not apply to them, since they acquired aircraft before the policies' implementation; and (4) believed that they had adequately justified their continuing need for passenger aircraft, although only one agency formally documented its reviews.
