The modern air traveler has come to expect safety and convenience with no delays at a reasonable price. However, the service that we have taken for granted might become impossible to achieve unless major changes are made to the entire aviation system.
More planes are flying today than ever before. As a result, air space becomes congested, air traffic controllers overwhelmed, and busy airports struggle to keep flights on time.
In response to these challenges, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation with the authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation—is in the process of developing a new aviation transportation system.
Through satellite-based technologies and with the cooperation of entities within the aviation industry, FAA has launched NextGen—a system designed to greatly improve safety, capacity, and efficiency of the nation’s air travel infrastructure while offering ecologically friendly procedures that reduce fuel burn, carbon emissions, and noise.
In addition, NextGen also aims to update air traffic control (ATC) with the technologies of the 21st century.
Out With the Old
Despite improvements in various technologies and a significant increase in the number of flights, the air travel system has remained the same for decades.
For example, upon leaving the gate, pilots begin communication with ATC to obtain routing information.
After takeoff the plane makes contact with the Departure Control center—an ATC facility typically located within the surrounding area of a large airport. This center will control the aircraft within a 35-mile radius to 60-mile radius of the airport, and up to 23,000 feet.
At this altitude the plane needs to establish another connection with a different controller that will guide the plane to its cruising altitude.
When it arrives at its cruising altitude, the aircraft will enter air corridors that resemble virtual highways in the sky. The plane will continue its prearranged flight path by following these highways which in turn are limited by radar on the ground. The radar establishes radio-controlled air space in which the planes fly.
Every time the aircraft enters a radio controlled air space, the pilots need to change radio frequencies, and this could happen more than 25 times during a coast-to-coast flight. Moreover, during the flight, the plane is required to make adjustments to its speed and direction.
External circumstances such as bad weather may force a plane to divert from the flight path. According to FAA bad weather accounts for 70 percent of all traffic delays, often causing a ripple effect throughout airports across the country.
As it approaches its final destination, the airplane will make multiple preparations for landing by continually decreasing speed, descending, and leveling off—a process known as the “step-down approach.” This procedure repeats again and again until the pilot is given permission to touch down.
The NextGen Difference
The aim of NextGen is to replace the current ground-based ATC system with one that is satellite based. This transformation is not only more efficient, it will also be essential for the safety of passengers.
Before takeoff and after landing, the airplane maneuvers on runways and taxiways guided by air traffic controllers. The FAA has a variety of systems that allow controllers to see traffic moving at the airport.
Airports now use the Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X, or ASDE-X, which receives its information from different sources such as radar and other transmissions. ATC monitors this information in the airport tower, guiding the decisions of the controller. However, in bad weather the radar may show false objects on the screen, interfering with ATC decisions and procedures.
NextGen, on the other hand, employs the Global Positioning System (GPS) to find the precise location of aircrafts and other ground vehicles. This information gets transmitted not only to the control tower, but also to a monitor in the cockpit allowing for a faster and more accurate excha