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Category: <span>NextGen</span>

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Press Release: FAA Installs Equipment for NextGen Aircraft Tracking System


The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today announced the completion of a nationwide infrastructure upgrade that will enable air traffic controllers to track aircraft with greater accuracy and reliability, while giving pilots more information in the cockpit. This upgrade is a key improvement in the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

“This upgrade is an important step in laying the foundation for the NextGen system, which provides controllers a much more precise view of the airspace, gives pilots much more awareness and information, and as a result strengthens the safety and efficiency of our system,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This state-of-the-art satellite system is already providing controllers with visibility in places not previously covered by radar.”

The nationwide installation of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) radio network supports a satellite-based surveillance system that tracks aircraft with the help of GPS. This provides more accurate aircraft location information than the current radar system.

NextGen refers to a set of initiatives being implemented by the FAA in collaboration with the aviation community to ensure that the United States has the safest, most efficient airspace possible for decades to come. In addition to ADS-B, NextGen improvements are already delivering benefits that include more efficient air traffic procedures that save time and fuel and reduce emissions.

“The installation of this radio network clears the way for air traffic controllers to begin using ADS-B to separate equipped aircraft nationwide,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said. “It will also provide pilots flying aircraft equipped with the proper avionics with traffic information, weather data and other flight information.”

Of the 230 air traffic facilities across the country, 100 are currently using this system to separate traffic. It is expected to be connected and operating at all 230 facilities by 2019. All aircraft operating in controlled airspace must be equipped with ADS-B Out avionics that broadcast the plane’s location, by Jan. 1, 2020.

With the upgraded surveillance and broadcast system and aircraft equipped with ADS-B Out transponders, aircraft positions on controller screens update almost continuously, compared to every 4.7 seconds or longer with radar.
ADS-B also enables more accurate tracking of airplanes and airport vehicles on runways and taxiways, increasing safety and efficiency. The new system significantly improves surveillance capability in areas with geographic challenges like mountains or over water. Airplanes equipped with ADS-B In, which is not currently mandated, will give pilots information through cockpit displays about location in relation to other aircraft, bad weather and terrain, and temporary flight restrictions.

In addition to the operational benefits of ADS-B, each one of the 634 ground stations installed by Exelis of McLean, Va., is substantially smaller than a radar installation – resulting in less impact to the environment and less cost to maintain.


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Air Transport Association to Congress: Leverage NextGen to Help Grow the U.S. Economy Through New Jobs and Increased Exports

The United States Needs a Cohesive National Airline Strategy That Includes Accelerated Deployment of NextGen

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2011 — The chief executive of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, testified today before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), calling for investment in the nation’s air traffic control system to create jobs, grow the economy and enable global competitiveness.

Commercial aviation drives $1.2 trillion in economic activity annually, supports nearly 11 million jobs and is responsible for more than 5 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.

“No other industry has such a powerful economic multiplier effect as commercial aviation,” said ATA President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. “Aviation provides the key connections that make the economy grow. If we want to double our nation’s exports over the next five years, there is no way to do it without commercial aviation.”

ATA called on Congress to view FAA reauthorization as a jobs bill, as an investment in NextGen air traffic management that will lead to the creation of 150,000 jobs immediately, and more over time. Other countries, including China, are investing heavily in their aviation infrastructure, to help transform their economies. China recently announced the equivalent of a $228 billion investment in aviation.

“[NextGen] is about the underlying strength of the U.S. economy and the ability of American industries to compete – and win – on the global stage,” Calio said. “The antiquated, ground-based air traffic control system in place today is a major drag on productivity and job creation. By accelerating NextGen, more than 150,000 jobs can be created, fuel consumption can be cut by as much as 12 percent and delays, which cost the United States $31 billion in 2007 alone, can be reduced.”

ATA urged that Congress and the administration craft a cohesive national airline strategy that would include accelerated deployment of NextGen and a rationalizing of the industry’s tax burden, which has soared from $3.7 billion in 1990 to more than $16 billion in 2010.

“Commercial aviation has the distinction of being among the highest taxed industries in the country, along with alcohol and tobacco – ironically products that are taxed to discourage use – when in fact, we should be doing all that we can to encourage air travel to the benefit of the economy and to job growth,” Calio said.

ABOUT ATA
Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. ATA airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For more information about the airline industry, visit www.airlines.org and follow us on Twitter @airlinesassn.

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