Creating a 21st Century Air Space Management System (read full report)
Mobility is changing the way people and goods get from place to place—and fast. And while self-driving cars and Hyperloop-powered, 30-min. trips between New York and Washington are grabbing headlines, the shift isn’t happening only on the ground. Plans are in the works for a supersonic airliner and autonomous, electric planes that will create an Uber-in-the-sky—all within a decade.
Simply put, aviation—no stranger to revolutionary advances—is on the cusp of changes not seen since the dawn of the Jet Age 60 years ago. Technology, ranging from autonomy to alternative power, will allow for commercial applications of concepts that were difficult to comprehend just a few years ago.
The evolution requires more than innovative companies harnessing leading-edge technology. It also requires a forward-leaning approach to the way we manage the space in which these new services will operate. The U.S. National Airspace System (NAS)—the network of airports, navigation aids and technology that ensures safe, efficient air travel in the world’s busiest airspace—is at a critical point in its history. It’s the safest in the world, but its technologically deficient.
Efforts to boost its efficiency by modernizing it, led by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and guided by Congress, have not kept up with technology, or even other countries. This technological deficit will grow more profound as the next generation of air transportation services—drones, ultra-fast transports, and the like—emerges.
The Alliance for Transportation Innovation (ATI21) examined FAA’s efforts to inject much-needed technology advancements into the NAS, and found a predictable pattern. Simply put, FAA’s inability to manage large, complex, technology-focused projects has left the U.S. aviation system behind its counterparts, and falling short of where it needs to be to serve today’s users. Rapid advances mean that tomorrow’s users will be even further behind.
Ensuring the U.S. airspace system is prepared for the future means taking a different approach. For this reason, ATI21 supports establishing a federally chartered, not-for-profit corporation to operate and modernize the NAS. The recommendation is one of nine in ATI21’s new report, “Creating a 21st Century Air Space Management System.”
The debate over what some inaccurately label “privatization” of our airspace management has been focused on the wrong things. It isn’t about who controls the decision-making or how projects are funded. Compromises in these areas are at hand—as they have been for decades.
The issue is whether current and future users are getting the best system possible—one that maintains the incredible safety record while creating a foundation for growth and innovation that will allow U.S. aerospace to thrive.
As we look forward, it is important to focus on what is possible to help us understand what is necessary. Ensuring the NAS’s technological capabilities requires bold—and necessary—changes.
Download full report – Creating a 21st Century Air Space Management System
