Military Aircraft

The Air Force's 89th Military Airlift Wing is on constant call to fly the President, the Vice President, and other U.S. and foreign officials. The policies and procedures under which high-ranking government executives and legislators use military planes for "official business" are so broad and vague that almost any travel can be justified at taxpayers' expense. While government regulations allow the use of government aircraft only when it is cost effective or when commercial flights are unavailable, traveling dignitaries rarely seem concerned about cost when using the 89th Wing. Aircraft use is free of charge to all but a few individuals, and no one independently verifies compliance with the policies. GAO believes that the policies should clearly state that these aircraft should be used only on an exception basis and that documented justification should be available to show that each use was appropriate. GAO summarized this report and the preceding one (GAO/AFMD-92-51) in testimony before Congress; see: Military Aircraft: Travel on 89th Military Airlift Wing and Travel by Selected Officials, by Frank C. Conahan, Assistant Comptroller General for National Security and International Affairs Programs, before the Subcommittee on Human Resources, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. GAO/T-NSIAD-92-35, Apr. 30 (17 pages).

GAO found that: (1) although the policies permit the use of 89th Wing aircraft for official business, they do not define official business or the circumstances in which use of the aircraft would be inappropriate; (2) several executive branch officials have special authorization to use government aircraft whenever they travel by air; (3) although a general policy stating that the use of government aircraft should be restricted to situations where it is cost-effective or where commercial aircraft services cannot meet travel requirements, the policies do not guide or restrict officials' aircraft travel; (4) travellers can readily assert that commercial services are unavailable, and most agencies do not reimburse the Air Force for aircraft use; (5) although regulations require the Air Force to justify and document each use of the aircraft, it does not independently verify that officials requesting use of the aircraft comply with the policies; and (6) although the Department of Defense (DOD) has the discretion to permit officials' spouses or dependents to travel without reimbursement, no one independently verifies that all nonofficial passengers that are required to reimburse the government for their travel costs do so at the appropriate rates.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone: