Hour Two: Air Traffic Control
 

If you’ve gone anywhere by plane this summer, you’ve probably spent more time drinking bad coffee in a hub airport than you had planned. Air traffic delays are at an all time high this year. Since frustrated customers are bad for business, and more planes than ever are in the air, the Federal Aviation Administration and the airlines are looking for new ways to maximize the use of the dwindling available air space.

First radar-equipped air traffic control tower. Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-101014)

In this hour we’ll take a peek inside an air traffic control tower to find out how the controllers coordinate traffic in our crowded airways. Under the current system, which relies heavily on radar, controllers dictate the whereabouts of nearly every plane in the sky. Under a new system called “free flight,” pilots might soon be responsible for knowing the location of other planes in their air space. Air traffic controllers will still oversee the system, and help planes with take-off and landing. But will these improvements be enough to keep up with the ever growing demand for a slice of our shrinking sky? Join us this hour for a look at the science of air traffic control and at this controversial new proposal for regulating air traffic. 
Call in - our number is 1-800-989-8255. 
 

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:

Michael Ball
Associate Director, National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland

Steven J. Brown
Associate Admisitrator, Air Traffic Services
Federal Aviation Administration
Washington, DC

Darryl Jenkins
Director, Aviation Institute
George Washington University
Washington, DC
 

Books/Articles Discussed:

Small Changes Make Big Differences: The Need for Improved Air Traffic Control and Aviation Infrastructure, Darryl Jenkins  (find more SciFri books here)

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Related Links:

Up-to-date Air Traffic Information (http://www.fly.faa.gov)
National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research home page (http://www.its.berkeley.edu/nextor/)
 

Produced By: Tom Clarke
Web Producer: Naomi Lubick, Annette Heist