As Skies Grow Crowded, FAA Preps Air Traffic Control 2.0

Oct. 25, 2007 — -- If you were one of the thousands of Americans stuck at an airport or stranded on a runway this past summer, you're probably not surprised that 2007 is shaping up as the worst year ever for flight delays, with nearly 30 percent of all flights arriving late between January and August. That's just the beginning. With U.S. flights projected to double in the next 20 years, the Federal Aviation Administration says that the current air-traffic-control system will be effectively gridlocked by 2015.

In the face of mounting public and congressional outcry, the FAA claims it has an answer: a planned overhaul called NextGen. For $15 to $22 billion, it will replace the nation's aging, radar-powered air-traffic-control network with one that relies on GPS and advanced avionics.

A much-needed upgrade, the new system may help defuse growing concerns over air traffic safety. The Associated Press reported this week that a secret NASA study found incidents of near collisions, bird strikes and last minute changes to landing plans occur far more frequently than previously known.

But some argue the planned upgrade ignores the core issues facing air traffic control, or ATC, and a bitter debate is raging over who should pay for the new system.

Getting an aircraft from point A to point B safely is currently no easy task. Air traffic controllers based at a flight's departure airport direct taxi, takeoff and initial climb. Then they hand planes off to one of 21 regional ATC stations scattered across the country, where controllers monitor flights using a patchwork of short- and long-range radar equipment. Flights are passed from station to station until approaching their arrival airport, where another crew of controllers handles descent and landing.

Built on World War II technology, the system is showing its age. Planes move quickly, and radar takes anywhere from three to 12 seconds to accurately read a position. So, the FAA requires separation of at least 1,000 feet vertically between planes, and three to five miles horizontally.