October 10th, 2008
America's airways ready for NextGen
It’s time – long past time – to upgrade the U.S. air traffic control system. The current system, designed during World War II, contributes mightily to flight delays, customer dissatisfaction and a massive energy wastefulness. But a GPS satellite-based system, on the drawing board for more than a decade, has languished, AP reports.
The cost of an upgrade? $35 billion. The payoff? Triple the air traffic capacity, delays reduced by half if not more, and improved safety, fuel savings and greenhouse gas reduction.
The FAA projects airlines would save $10 billion a year by 2025, largely by avoiding the current system of single-file zig-zag routes that cause airlines to fly cross-country in sweeping arches across the north or south of the country.
It’s “the equivalent of using an electric typewriter when others are using computers,” said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transportation Association. “It’s a huge, huge drag on productivity.”
Switching to “NextGen” is no small undertaking: It’s “one of the largest project management challenges the federal government has had since we put somebody on the moon,” according to the FAA’s head of the air traffic system.
But is FAA up to the task? A recent GAO reports said the government suffers from a lack of the highly skilled managers needed to see the project through. But the current administration has never fully supported the transition, critics say.
“The next president needs to make the NextGen initiative a national priority and ensure that it is given the resources, management attention and sense of urgency that it warrants,” said Rep. Bart Gordon, a Democrat from Tennessee and chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee.
