Air traffic control and safety

Airlines are directly affected by the traffic control problems that have plagued the airline industry. Flight delays are increasing to record levels, and delays are something the airlines cannot afford.

Delta Air Lines has tried to cut that, and their planes are now up in the air within 10 minutes after leaving the terminal gate, which is three minutes earlier than in previous years. Alaska Airlines and UPS are also improving their turnaround times by using new technology similar to Delta.

UPS Airlines is working with a private firm to develop a landing pattern that will separate planes in terms of time, not distance, in order to land planes at the briefest interval without compromising safety.

Alaska Airlines planes in Juneau, Alaska could not always see the runway unless clouds were at least 1,000ft above ground and visibility was more than two miles. If there were clouds there was only one way out. The airline often had to bump off freight or even passengers, for safety considerations. But with GPS and other instruments, planes can now land at lower cloud ceilings and limited visibility. The system made 754 extra flights possible last year.

The three airlines are showing the industry possible solutions to the air traffic system problems. They give a hint of the future of aviation in the nation – that is if the FAA, the airlines, and traffic controllers can work the details out.

They are all using their own refinements and adaptations on the Global Positioning System (GPS) and its network of satellites. The gains so far are measured in minutes, but in an overloaded system with the prospect of delays on each flight, these small improvements can add up to help unclog the bottlenecks.

By taking the initiative to utilize these systems, the airlines are putting pressure on the FAA to improve air traffic control systems. The change involves not only technology, but also politics.

It was previously the FAA that would purchase new systems for air traffic control installations and instruct airlines to acquire complementary equipment that would use these systems. Now, it is the airlines buying GPS systems and equipping their planes, while the FAA handles safety regulation.

It may sound like do-it-yourself traffic control but it’s not: nothing gets implemented without FAA evaluation and approval. The FAA is encouraging innovation among airlines.

On Thursday, it awarded a contract for the construction and operation of a nationwide network of radio receivers that would accept signals from airliners while in flight. Each plane transmits its current position, which would be determined by use of the GPS satellite systems. The data would be processed to present to controllers and pilots in flight a display indicating the precise locations of all planes in the area.

The FAA also expects this year to issue guidelines that set the schedule for equipping all airplanes with satellite navigation systems and surveillance.