Air Traffic Control

Flight Delays Are Bad Today, and Only Getting Worse

Chances are pretty good that in the past year air travel has left you stuck – at a gate, on a plane, in a city far from home or important business. The sad reality is that air travel comes with sacrifice – delays. And they’re only getting worse.

America’s airspace is not much different than our cities' major highways. Increased traffic causes congestion and gridlock in the narrow “lanes in the sky.” But it doesn’t have to be that way. Our Air Traffic Control system still relies on World War II-era technologies like radar and analog radio that limit usable airspace. With modernization, we can reduce delays and create a more efficient system. Without it, air travel will be intolerable and delays will continue to cost passengers billions of dollars each year.

Understanding the Problem

Air traffic is expected to grow from roughly 45,000 daily flights to 61,000 daily flights in the next ten years. FAA, analysts and technical experts all agree that the existing system cannot accommodate the projected growth, and therefore must be overhauled.

The two maps below detail high-altitude traffic in 2005, and projected traffic in 2025. Red spots on the maps indicate areas where congestion is expected to occur. Though there are relatively few red areas today, the future will be much different as congestion spreads throughout the nation. Learn more about why there will be so much new traffic here >>

Past solutions to congestion problems have included building more facilities, hiring more controllers and expanding existing ATC technologies, instead of developing modern alternatives. These patchwork solutions have been only marginally effective, at a huge cost. Today, we continue to rely on most of the same technologies and procedures that were developed decades ago, and consume two billion dollars annually in maintenance costs alone.

2005                                                              2025

Increasing Congestion in the ATC System (click for high resolution)

The nation's 21 en-route airspace divisions Though hardware and facility problems are serious, the architecture of the ATC system is what requires the most urgent modernization.  For example, the ATC system relies on 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which control flights above 18,000 feet. At the time these were built -- before the advent of satellites, fiber-optic cable and the internet -- 21 centers were necessary to  fully manage U.S. airspace. With modern technologies and procedures, the 21 regions could be streamlined to yield a more efficient and cost-effective ATC system.

Learn more about the history of air navigation >>

What Can Be Done

There are viable solutions to the ATC dilemma facing the United States, all of which involve a transition from a ground-based, analog system to a modernized, satellite-driven system.