Air traffic controllers are vital players in our nation's aviation system. Each day they direct thousands of take-offs and landings, guiding commercial, corporate and military aircraft safely through the airspace to their destinations. Unfortunately controllers are doing their jobs with equipment that is increasingly out of date, and that – at some point – simply will not be able to keep pace with consumer-driven demand.
In many cases, controllers have no choice but to keep track of planes on handwritten strips of paper. And the projected 36 percent increase in air traffic over the next ten years threatens to overwhelm our nation's outdated system.
By 2014, FAA estimates that air traffic delays will grow by 62 percent over 2004 levels. Lost time translates into lost dollars for everyone concerned. Passengers alone will lose $9.4 billion, and manufacturers and others who rely on just-in-time deliveries will also pay dearly for the cost of delays.
The good news is: new technology and a modern ATC system will reduce delays and head off gridlock.
New, advanced technologies already exist and others are being developed that will be able to handle 21st century air traffic – including a growing new generation of private jets. Digital, satellite and GPS technologies are commonplace realities in modern-day life, and they should be as integral to the ATC system as they are to other industries and services.