A plane’s movement, from preflight checks made at the gate
through landing at a destination airport is closely coordinated by a series of
air traffic controllers at the origin airport, in the region, along the plane’s
route and at the destination airport. Each has a specific duty in the process,
and is vital to the efficiency of air travel in the United States. The topic of
NextGen has been brought up when President Trump nominated his personal pilot
to be a candidate in the running for the next FAA Administrator. NextGen has
been a long process, which started in 2007 and finalized by 2015. The goals of
NextGen would be to increase the safety, efficiency, capacity and
predictability, using a satellite-based system. NextGen is not just a single
program; it’s made up of a series of initiatives such as: Automatic Dependent
Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), System-Wide Information Management (SWIM), Data
Communication, The Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing Program, Performance-Based
Navigation and Reduced Separation Standards (PBN), Trajectory-Based Operations
(TBO), Low-Visibility Operations, Flight Deck Enhancements such as TIS-B, FIS-B
and EFBs, NAS Voice System,Collaborative Air Traffic Management Technologies
(CATMT),Common Support Service-Weather (CSS-Wx) and Atlantic Interoperability
Initiative to reduce Emissions (AIRE).
They believe that air
traffic control privatization is the biggest threat to the future of our
industry, claiming that it’s being pushed by the nation’s biggest airlines and
some front groups. The private pilots and small airports are concerned that
high user fees will create an industry dominated by large airlines that can
afford such costs, leaving small businesses and towns behind. General Aviation
Manufactures Association and Experimental Aircraft Association have both stated
that everyone should reach out to contact their representative in Congress and
urge them to oppose H.R. 2997. They have also declared that our current ATC
systems works and handing it to a monopoly that is governed by a nonprofit board
of directors who have never managed any ATC system in their life would be that
most devastating thing that could have ever happened in the aviation industry.
Nav Canada, a nonprofit company that owns and
runs Canada’s civil air navigation system, as well as the UK, France, Germany,
New Zealand, Australia and Switzerland have joined realized that the government
managing air traffic was a big mistake. They are the model for those in the
U.S. airline industry and Congress who want to shift responsibility for air
traffic control out of the FAA. They believed that private companies could do a
better job of investing in new technology, improving efficiency and reliability
and lowering costs. Canada, for example, privatized its air traffic control
back in 1996, in a way similar to what Trump is proposing to do now. The results
have been a resounding success and if the U.S. converts to NextGen as Canada
has, it will be light years ahead in technology and efficiency.
In a response to a request
from the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation, the FAA and the
NextGen Advisory Committee, needs to develop a step-by-step plan. However, it’s
been said that the FAA has missed many opportunity to more efficiently use its resources
by implementing the highest-priority capabilities. Congress has continued to
meet with DOT in knowing the steps needed to not delay NextGen any longer. Many
have suggested that FAA’s role as a regulatory agency and its ATC function has
been a fundamental mismatch in modernizing the system.
As
the aviation industry continues to grow, we will definitely need something new,
better and a much faster system. It would provide pilots. And ATC with real
time information, moving from radar systems to satellite technology. More airplanes
would be able to fly closer together, with 500 feet of vertical separation would
be the new standard instead of the 1000 feet we are allowed now. All this will
lead to 20% reduction of en route errors, reduced fuel cost, more direct routes
which will lead to faster flights, fewer delays and enhanced security.
Rumore, Kori and Geib, Phil. (September 29,
2014). How the air traffic control system
works. Retrieved April 7, 2018 from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-how-the-air-traffic-control-system-works-graphic-20140929-htmlstory.html.
Werner, Debra. (June 2017). Privatizing Air Traffic Control. Retrieved
April 7, 2018 from https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/privatizing-air-traffic-control/.
Jadranka, I think that your post was rich of high-quality information. I, like you, think that the system currently being used by ATC is outdated and that it should my implemented with newer and more efficient technology. NextGen in my opinion, once it will be placed into action, will have an outstanding positive impact on the way ATC system is ran today, bringing enormous benefits not only to the aircraft operators but also to the general public and to the global environment. In fact, it is estimated that throughout 2020 there will be a reduction of burned fuel that would sum up to be roughly 1.6 billion gallons and the emission of CO2 in the atmosphere would be decreased approximal by 16 million tons.
ReplyDelete-Nenne747-
I like a lot of your arguments, Iron Butterfly. I would most certainly agree that having the government in charge of the ATC system is wildly inefficient. As a pilot, I am sort of glad that things are slow changing in the system I rely on so much, though. The slow changes in the regulations are nice because I always have a good understanding of what is allowed of me and what is not. Any large changes in the ATC system, like ADS-B, are pretty widely understood. If bigger changes like this were much more frequent, it may lead to a lot of confusion within the system, which is something we definitely do not want.
ReplyDeleteIron Butterfly,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post and agree that the FAA has made a huge mess of the NextGen implementation. It would definitely be better managed and implemented in the private sector. I also agree that the implementation of such a system would allow for less costs in the airline industry. I am afraid that with these new implementations, the collateral cost would be too great for the GA sector of aviation to handle. It will be interesting to see how the public handles the future ATC privatization attempts.
I believe that the systems used currently are outdated but they still work and they are still providing safe operations for millions of people, I agree that they need technology but I also believe if NextGen doesn't work out we will have a serious crisis on our hands.
ReplyDelete