Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), recently used Charlotte Douglas International Airport as an example of successfully integrating NextGen procedures into its air traffic control operations.
NextGen procedures are designed to help airports and their flights operate more efficiently. The goal is to reduce emissions and improve the on-time performance of the airports throughout the U.S.
There are two main ways NextGen is being updated. First, the FAA has partnered with the Charlotte airport, air carriers and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create a sophisticated technology system that will manage departures and arrivals throughout the U.S. This will help airports operate much more efficiently.
The second new approach is data communications. These are a kind of text-messaging approach that will improve the communication between flight crews and air traffic controllers when they discuss clearances, advisories, instructions and flight-crew requests.
The new NextGen procedures are important in updating air traffic control operations, which are based on ground-navigation techniques that are decades old. Thanks to the technology and satellite navigation behind NextGen, airports can have more accurate operations.
Similar NextGen modernization approaches are being implemented in 12 other metropolitan areas across the U.S.
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