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Internet Travel Monitor - Events & Legislation
October 17, 2007
FAA to Require Airlines to be ADS-B Capable by 2020
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. FAA recently issued its expected Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to require that airlines equip all aircraft operating in controlled airspace with ADS-B compatible avionics by 2020.
"The proposal would require all aircraft flying in the nation's busiest airspace to have satellite-based avionics by 2020, enabling air traffic controllers to track aircraft by satellites using [ADS-B], which is 10 times more accurate than current radar technology," the agency said. The proposal is open to public comment for 90 days.
FAA hopes to make the rule final by late 2009. Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May said, "Initial indications are that the NPRM appears to be in line with industry expectations and is an important step on the path to NextGen."
Separately, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said she will make recommendations on reducing airline delays to President Bush by year end. In a speech delivered to Airports Council International-North America's annual conference in Kansas City, she said she is not interested in imposing "heavy-handed government regulation" on airlines, adding that "market mechanisms such as congestion pricing, peak-hour ticket surcharges and slot auctions. . .can make a tremendous contribution to solving congestion."
Peters also warned, "The delays that travelers experienced this summer are a symptom of a system that has failed. . .New York [which is estimated to account for 75% of U.S. delays] is not an anomaly, but a preview of congestion to come." She attributed much of the problem to a funding system that is subject to political influence and pressure rather than market demand.
She pegged the annual economic cost of airline delays at $9 billion and said lost economic activity owing to delays will skyrocket to $22 billion by 2022 and $33 billion by 2033 absent "fundamental change."
The National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. said that controller staffing shortages are a primary cause of delays and that the situation will not improve as more controllers retire and inexperienced newcomers take their place. NATCA President Patrick Forrey noted that there are 1,400 fewer controllers today than before 9/11 and that 1,300-1,400 are retiring or quitting each year. FAA said it has hired about 1,300 new controllers this year, but Forrey said few of them will be certified by year end and claimed that 200 of the new hires already have quit owing to low pay.
Copyright 2007 Penton Media, Inc. All rights
reserved. From http://www.atwonline.com. By Aaron Karp.
To view the Internet Travel Monitor Archive, click http://www.tripinfo.com/ITM/index.html.
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