Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration are gearing up for another busy summer of air travel, with a goal of heading off the types of widespread disruptions that have been common during recent summers.
The agency said on 29 April that it has been “meeting with airlines, general aviation representatives and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association to discuss traffic management strategies, operator schedules and facility needs in the national airspace system”.
The FAA’s air traffic control (ATC) operation has suffered in recent years from staff shortages and technological failures that have disrupted air traffic on numerous occasions and to varying degrees.
Disruptions have been particularly common during summer months, when thunderstorms and particularly heavy air traffic compound the issues.
“The FAA is also looking to develop playbooks to keep aircraft moving safely, using alternate routes and altitudes to reduce constrained areas with increased demand,” the agency says. “The FAA will also work with the military to make sure FAA can use special use airspace during very busy traffic periods.”
Additionally, the agency is starting to use a “new ultra-high sector” of airspace above Jacksonville, Florida that will allow “for more-efficient layers over what has recently become one of the busiest airspaces” in the system.
The FAA expects its ATC division will handle 4% more flights this summer than last.
The agency has been playing catch-up for several years, scrambling to hire more controllers and to update old systems that have repeatedly failed. Such scrutiny intensified following the 29 January collision of a US Army helicopter and PSA Airlines regional jet above the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National airport. That incident killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
As part of its investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board has said it uncovered numerous instances in recent years of aircraft coming too close to each other in the airspace near Washington, DC.
On 29 April, the US House of Representatives’ transportation committee said it is preparing to vote on a bill that would set aside $15 billion to modernise ATC.
