Introduction
The challenges that the airline industry faces are common and persistent. The challenges in the air transportation industry go beyond the need for lessening the congestion and improving the quality of service and coverage. However, the main challenges are the need to make sure that the air transportation system and safe and environmental compatibility. Nonetheless, the individual technologies and capabilities that are introduced by NASA together with its research partners have the capability of improving safety and environmental impacts that lead to the consequences of the challenges that the aviation industry is faced with.
The environmental challenges that the aviation industry is faced with has contributed to the increase in flight delays and minimizing the capacity remain. Thus, the primary objective is to gain access to funds for the initiatives that will contribute to the successful implementation of resources that will address the challenges faced in the aviation industry (National Research Council, 2015). Funding is expected to be outsourced from various institutions such as the FAA, airlines, and airports. Secondly, the other challenge is addressing the issue of flight delays and improving capacity at delay-prone airports such as the New York La Guardia. Delay-prone airports have minimal capacity to accommodate new expansions, and it would be difficult to build an additional runway.
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Adding new capacity by building new airports is another strategy that could be implemented as a measure to reduce delay problems. For instance, the FAA identifies that there is a need for new airports to be built in locations such as Las Vegas, San Diego and Chicago (National Research Council, 2015). Another viable option is to introduce other modes of intercity travel to reduce congestion at the airport and increase capacity. Alternative intercity travel may include high-speed rail in areas whereby the metropolitan cities are relatively close to each other. However, these alternatives may interfere with the interests of certain stakeholders, and in most instances, it may be quite expensive.
The FAA’s National Airspace systems Plan (NAS Plan) that was released by the Federal Aviation Administration defines the agency’s current proposals which focus on modernizing the facilities and equipment that contribute to the development of the air traffic control (ATC) system. This plan’s primary goal is to try and integrate the different enhancements to form a single long-range program that provides solutions to the main shortcomings and minimizes the costs of the current system. OTA (1982) asserts that the NAS Plan is perceived at a high level as an account of the policies, goals and directions – thus, the NAS Plan should be recognized as a significant and bold strategy compared to the past FAA efforts.
The FAA has the intentions of addressing the issues of airports and airspace procedures. The evolution of technologies into the National Airspace System and the development of the related procedures, regulations and certification processes is a significant challenge that the FAA encounters. However, the FAA aims at introducing a revised plan that provides directives for airport development. This plan will re-examine the rules, regulations, and procedures that govern how the airspace is utilized. Nonetheless, by outlining the first plan of modernizing the ATC technology, and failing to wait until the other strategies have been thoroughly defined in the area of airports and airspace procedures - the FAA may be investing too many efforts on the technological solutions. Additionally, the NAS Plan reinforces this notion by giving improved technology the priority.
The operations of the National Airspace System (NAS) are greatly affected by the increased number of unscheduled equipment outages that takes place daily. As a result, this causes the airport throughput reductions, increased delays in flights and cancellations. Therefore, the consequences of such shortages need to be reduced, monitored and understood. Hecht and Handal (2002) assert that there is a need to introduce new methods and tools that will evaluate the impact of resource allocation, equipment availability, technician utilization, decisions on downtime and maintenance backlog. This is because the number of maintenance facilities that the FAA must support are rapidly growing.
Recommendations
The FAA should invest more time in studying the systems and technologies that are used in the air control facilities and the operating aircraft. This way the FAA will be able to identify the appropriate modeling and simulation strategies that can be used to assess the feasibility and potential for enhancements of the technologies. Based on the information gathered, the FAA can make an informed decision on the available and appropriate options – and the impact that they have on the aviation stakeholders.
Additionally, the FAA can incorporate the use of high capability modeling and simulation equipment which can be used to account for the weather, airport features and the complex air traffic controls rules and procedures – that are used in governing the flight operations. Moreover, they should develop a human simulation facility that manages air traffic, examines the human factors that influence the capability of improving the procedures. The knowledge that is gathered from the simulation assists the FAA to recognize which concepts and procedures the aviation industry should consider during the implementation process.
References
Hecht, M. & Handal, J. (2002). An analytical model for predicting the impact of maintenance resource allocation on air traffic control system availability. IEEE. Retrieved from: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/902440/citations#citations
National Research Council. 2015. Transformation in the Air: A Review of the FAA's Certification Research Plan . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/21757 .
OTA. (1982). Review of FAA’s 1982 National Airspace System Plan Project Staff. OTA Publishing Staff. Retrieved from: https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1982/8222/8222.PDF
