Chapter 2

INTRODUCTION AND
OVERVIEW
Contents

Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘9
Trends and Forecasts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Airport Capacity Problem. ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The ATC Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Committee Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
OTA’s Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Technological Improvements. ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Control Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Freedom of Airspace Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Automation and Controller Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Funding and Cost Allocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No. Page
1. Profile
of U.S. Airports, 1980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2. FAA Budget and Funding Sources, 1971-80. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
 Chapter 2

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

BACKGROUND
The National Airspace System (NAS) includes (FAA), which has responsibility for assuring the
about 6,500 public-use airports serving nearly all safe and expeditious movement of aircraft in
cities and small communities in the United U.S. airspace and contiguous areas. FAA is also
States. Connecting these airports is a network of responsible for coordinating the use of airspace
air routes, defined by navigational aids, that shared by military and civil aviation.
channeI the flow of traffic. Flight along these
In all, the NAS accommodates about 180,000
routes, as well as operations in the terminal
operations (takeoffs and landings) per day at air-
areas surrounding airports, is monitored and
ports with FAA control towers, or roughly 66
controlled by a system of ground-based surveil-
million per year. Of these, 22 percent are com-
lance equipment and communication links—the
mercial flights (scheduled air carrier, commuter,
air traffic control (ATC) system.
and air taxi), 74 percent are general aviation,
With two exceptions (Washington National and 4 percent are military. Most of the commer-
Airport and Dunes International Airport), * U.S. cial operations are concentrated at the top 66
airports used by commercial flights are owned airports, which account for over 77 percent of
and operated by local, regional, or State author- commercial operations and 88 percent of passen-
ities. Many general aviation (GA) aircraft also ger enplanements. Within this group, airline
use these commercial air carrier airports, but traffic is even more highly concentrated at a few
most are served by smaller public airports and major hubs. As shown in figure 1, the 10 largest
by roughly 10,000 privately owned fields. The hubs handle 33 percent of all operations and 47
air route system and the ATC system are oper- percent of all passengers.l
ated by the Federal Aviation Administration
‘FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, Calendar Year 1980
*Washington National and Dunes International are owned by (Washington, D. C.: Federal Aviation Administration, 1981),
the Federal Government and operated by the FAA. passim.

TRENDS AND FORECASTS

The use of NAS, as measured by aircraft oper- safety problems arising from the growth in de-
ations at airports with FAA towers, has grown mand for ATC services, problems that will not
at an annual rate of about 4 percent in recent be confined to major airports or commercial
years, due almost entirely to the rapid growth of operations. Projections show the demand for
the GA sector.2 FAA expects the rate of growth ATC services by GA users could increase by as
to slow to about 3 percent per year in the next much as 70 percent over the next 10 years.
decade, but this would still mean that the con- The accuracy of these forecasts depends on
gestion now experienced at the 5 or 10 largest factors that are difficult to predict reliably, For
airports may spread to 10 or 15 additional air- example, the growth in aviation is extremely
ports by the year 2000. This growth would also
lead to substantial increases in the workload of pacity is defined as the maximum number of aircraft operations
(takeoffs and landings) that can be accommodated in a given peri-
the ATC system. FAA workload forecasts in- od of time on a given runway (or set of runways) under prevailing
dicate that there may be both capacity* and conditions of wind and weather and in conformance with estab-
— lished procedures for maintaining safe separation of aircraft. Simi-
‘FAA Aviation Forecasts, Fiscal Years 1981-1992 (Washington, larly, airspace capacity is defined as the maximum number of
D. C.: Federal Aviation Administration, 1980), passim. flights that can be allowed to pass through a volume of airspace
*In a general sense, capacity refers to the number of aircraft that during a given period of time without violating minimum separa-
can be safely accommodated in a given period of time. Airport ca- tion standards.

9
 10 ● Airport and Air Traffic Control System

a
Figure 1.— Profile of U.S. Airports, 1980

alncludes heliports, STOL ports, seaplane bases, and mllltary-cwll joint.use fields, excludes facllltles tn Puerlo RICO, Vlrgln Islands, and Paclflc
Territories.

SOURCE FAA Stat/s r/ca/ Handbook, 7980

sensitive to the state of the national economy.

The price and availability of fuel could be a seri-
ous constraint on all classes of aviation. The
long-term effects of airline deregulation are un-
certain but they could have an important influ-
ence on the profitability and competitive struc-
ture of the industry. Thus, while there is a con-
sensus that air activity as a whole will continue
to grow, it is not certain how much growth to
expect, where it will occur, or what strategies
should be adopted to accommodate it. It does
seem clear, however, that growth of aviation,
even at a rather slow rate, gives rise to concern
about future airport capacity, terminal area con- Photo credit: Bill Osmun, Air Transport Association
gestion, and the safety and efficiency of the ATC
A crowded terminal
system.
 Ch. 2—Introduction and Overview • 11

THE AIRPORT CAPACITY PROBLEM

Concentration of air traffic at a few large GA users of major hubs also feel the effects of
hubs, brought about by the economics of air delay in the form of restrictions on access to
transportation and by the general increase in air busy airports imposed during peak hours to deal
travel, creates congestion and delay. * The cut- with congestion.
back in scheduled flights following the air traffic
Expanding airport capacity, either through
controllers’ strike has caused the problem to
construction of new airports or enlargement of
abate temporarily, but congestion can be ex-
existing ones, is an obvious but far from easy so-
pected to recur when operations return to nor-
lution. The availability of land for airport ex-
mal levels, and with it the associated problem of
safely handling a growing volume of air traffic. pansion is severely limited in major metropoli-
tan areas, and the cost of available land is often
Congestion results in delays that increase airline
prohibitive. There is also rising community
operating costs and, ultimately, the cost of air
resistance to airport expansion and construction
travel for the public. If fuel prices increase, the
cost of these delays will become magnified. on the grounds of noise, surface congestion, and
the diversion of land from other desired pur-
Commuter airlines and air taxi services are even
poses. Even where these obstacles could be over-
more vulnerable to delay costs than trunk air-
come, increasing capacity by building a new air-
lines, since they have a much smaller base of
port is at best a long-range solution—the lead-
passengers across which to spread these costs.
time from conception to beneficial use of a new
airport is often a decade or more.
*Delay occurs whenever aircraft must wait beyond the time they
are scheduled to use an airport or a sector of airspace. In practical To deal with the problem of congestion in the
terms, delay is usually defined as occurring whenever some per-
centage of aircraft must wait longer than a specified period of time, near term, and in a less capital-intensive way,
e.g., 80 percent of the aircraft must wait 4 minutes or longer. Con- two management approaches may be used. One
gestion occurs as demand (the desired number of operational ap- is to shift some of the demand for use of the air-
proaches capacity. An increasing number of aircraft seeking to use
an airport or an airspace sector at the same time causes queues to port from peak to off peak hours by administra-
build up among aircraft awaiting clearance to proceed. tively imposing quotas or by applying differen-

Photo credit: Neal Callahan

Congestion and delay
 12 ● Airport and Air Traffic Control System

tial pricing for airport access according to the willingly accept diversion, especially if it im-
time of day. This solution tends to work to the poses inconvenience or extra cost. One way to
advantage of major air carriers and against the make diversion more attractive would be to im-
commuter and air taxi operators, and even more prove the ground transportation links between
heavily against GA users, who complain that hubs and reliever airports.
quotas or peak-hour pricing might effectively
The intractability of the congestion problem
preclude them from using major airports at all.
and the difficulties of increasing airport capacity
An alternative strategy is to divert some traffic
or making more efficient use of capacity through
to another airport— for example, from a large
managerial techniques have prompted some
metropolitan hub to GA reliever airports in the
people to look to the ATC system for an alter-
vicinity. In several cities the problem is not a
nate solution. Through procedural changes or
general shortage of capacity but a dispropor-
technological improvements, the ATC system
tionate demand at one airport, while excess
might be able to make more efficient use of the
capacity exists at nearby airports that could
airspace in crowded terminal areas, thereby ex-
serve as satellites or relievers. The difficulty
pediting the flow of traffic to and from runways.
arises in determining who is to be diverted, since
few potential users of reliever airports would

THE ATC PROBLEM

The task of controlling air traffic in congested Technological improvements to the ATC sys-
terminal areas is greatly complicated when traf- tem could help make fuller use of the physical
fic consists of a mixture of large and small, capacity of the airport and reduce controller
piston and jet aircraft. Arriving and departing workload. Among these improvements are new
traffic, which is descending and climbing along surveillance, communication, navigation, and
various paths and at different speeds to and data processing equipment that could enhance
from en route altitudes, may consist of a com- the controllers’ ability to separate and direct
bination of IFR and VFR traffic. * This traffic traffic. The Discrete Address Beacon System
mixture is inherently difficult to manage. Effi- (previously know as DABS and now designated
ciency dictates that aircraft be moved to and as Mode S) is a new generation of radar equip-
from - the runway as expeditiously as possible ment that permits aircraft to be interrogated in-
and that gaps in traffic be kept to a minimum. dividually for information about identity, posi-
Safety, on the other hand, requires a regular tion, and altitude. Mode S also provides a two-
traffic pattern to prevent conflicts, and a way data link that could reduce dependence on
minimum safe separation distance to prevent the present voice radio channels and provide a
fast aircraft from overtaking slower ones. Air much more rapid and extensive exchange of in-
turbulence in the form of wake vortices,** formation between air and ground. Various
which are more severe behind heavier aircraft, forms of proposed airborne systems to detect
requires even greater separation between aircraft and avoid potential collisions would provide a
than would be needed if all were a uniform size. supplement to present separation assurance
The overall result is that ATC procedures neces- techniques and reduce some of the controller’s
sary to assure safety and to manage the work- burden in handling a high volume of traffic. It
load also contribute to delays in terminal areas. may also be possible to provide computer analy-
sis of flight plans in advance that would help
—.—
“Aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and Vis- resolve conflicts in terminal areas, expedite traf-
ual Flight Rules (VFR). fic flow, and permit more direct and fuel-saving
**Eddies and turbulence, generated in the flow of air over wings routing from origin to destination. Another pro-
and fuselage, can upset the stability of following aircraft. Wake
vortices, which are invisible, cannot now be accurately detected, posed improvement is the addition of special
and their movement and duration cannot be reliably predicted. cockpit displays that would provide a picture of
 Ch. 2—Introduction and Overview • 13

traffic in terminal areas and thereby permit made by the Federal Government, but some of
pilots to cooperate more effectively with the the funds could be provided by taxes on airspace
controller or to assume some of the controller’s users, who might also have to purchase new
present responsibility for separation assurance avionics equipment to supplement or replace
and determining flight path in terminal areas. what they already have. Managing the transi-
Finally, the Microwave Landing System (MLS) tion to a new generation of ATC would also re-
would not only improve the ability to land in quire careful attention, both to assure continuity
conditions of severely reduced visibility, but of service and to avoid the penalties of excessive
also permit multiple or curving approach paths cost or unexpected delay. It therefore seems
to the runway instead of the single-file, straight- especially important to select an evolutionary
en approach required with the present Instru- path that does not foreclose options prematurely
ment Landing System (ILS). In the longer term, and does allow flexibility in the choice between
proposed new ATC technology might replace competing technologies.
the present system of ground-based radar and
These prospective ATC improvements raise
radio navigation and surveillance capabilities.
important issues for airspace users. If the re-
These proposed improvements, if adopted, quired new avionics systems become mandatory
would require very large investments over the for access to terminal areas or for general use of
next two decades. These investments would be controlled airspace, some GA, small commuter,

Photo credit: Federal Aviation Administration

Air controller and screen

14 • Airport and Air Traffic Control System

and air taxi operators may find the cost pro- of the present system as possible. Some possible
hibitive. New civil aviation requirements may improvements might ultimately have to be re-
not be entirely compatible with the missions or jected, despite of their potential for increasing
capabilities of military aircraft that share the capacity or enhancing safety, because of the cost
airspace. There will probably be pressure to pro- to users or infringement of the right of access to
long the transition period and to retain as much the airspace.

THE COMMITTEE REQUEST

Concerns about these problems and about Specifically, the Committee on Appropria-
te feasibility and cost of proposed solutions tions requested that OTA make an independent
prompted the House Committee on Appropria- assessment in four major areas:
● scenarios of future growth in air transporta-
tions, - Subcommittee on Transportation, to re-
quest that OTA undertake an assessment of air- tion;
● alternative ways to increase airport and ter-
port and terminal area capacity and related ATC
issues. Subsequently, the Senate Committee on minal area capacity;
● technological and economic alternatives to
Commerce, Science, and Transportation also ex-
pressed interest in these issues and endorsed the the ATC system modifications proposed by
request of the House Committee on Appropria- FAA; and
● alternatives to the present ATC process.
tions.

OTA’s APPROACH
This assessment considers the growth of air Chapter 3. Description of the functions, or-
transportation over the remainder of this cen- ganization, and operation of NAS with em-
tury. Particular attention is given to large hub phasis on ATC.
airports, where most of the congestion and delay Chapter 4. Analysis of possible long-range
is expected to occur. For the ATC system, the as- trends in air activity and the effect they
sessment focuses on improvements that would might have on technical, investment, and
affect the safety and capacity of terminal air- management decisions.
space, but developments in other parts of the Chapter 5. Examination of prospective new
ATC system (en route and flight information technologies and organizational alterna-
services) are also considered, Effects of these tives for the ATC system.
changes on airspace users (commercial opera- Chapter 6. Analysis of various ways to in-
tors, passengers, general aviation, and the mili- crease airport capacity and their advantages
tary services) are also examined. Policy options and disadvantages.
and alternative development plans are identified
Chapter 7. Discussion of the policy implica-
and analyzed.
tions that arise from alternative approaches
The results of this assessment are presented in to increasing airport capacity and improv-
the following five chapters: ing the ATC system.

ISSUES
Expanding, improving, and maintaining the of the Federal Government from the earliest
national system of airways, airports, and air days of aviation. There have been undeniable
traffic control has been an important objective benefits to airspace users and the general public
 Ch. 2—Introducflon and Overview • 15
——.———

from the greater speed and regularity of air changes such as airline deregulation, the growth
transportation and from the remarkable record of commuter service, sharp rises in fuel cost, and
of safety that has been achieved over the years. slower economic growth will either dampen
The rationale for Federal involvement in the de- growth or cause it to develop in a pattern
velopment and operation of NAS has tradition- significantly different from that of the past. For
ally rested on two grounds: 1) promotion and example, one suggestion is that in an unregu-
regulation of interstate and foreign commerce; lated environment, market forces will cause a
and 2) enhancement of the capability for na- redistribution of traffic as users find that delay
tional defense. It has been argued on both costs outweigh the benefits of operating at con-
grounds that the Federal Government must take gested hub airports.
an active role to coordinate the development GA is the sector of aviation where growth has
and to manage the operation of the system. The
been the most rapid and where there is most seri-
system that has evolved under Federal sponsor- ous concern about accommodating future de-
ship and direction is not without its flaws,
mand. Twenty years ago, GA accounted for
however, and some observers believe that future
only a small fraction of instrument operations;
development should be directed along lines
today it represents slightly over half of all instru-
other than those of the past. Many of their con-
ment operations at FAA facilities, and most
cerns are embodied in the summary of major
forecast; show GA demand for ATC services in-
issues which follows; these issues will be treated
creasing at rates far higher than those of com-
in greater detail in subsequent chapters of the
mercial air carriers. Measures to restrict GA
report.
activity at major hubs or to divert it to reliever
airports or offpeak hours are certain to be con-
Growth troversial. GA users feel that reservations, quo-
tas, or differential pricing schemes, would un-
There is basic agreement among aviation ex-
fairly deny them access to and use of the air-
perts that civil aviation in the United States will
space system. On the other hand, some believe
continue to grow, thereby increasing the overall
that GA flights into congested terminal areas
demand for airport use and ATC services. There
should be limited because they typically carry
is considerably less agreement about the rate of very few passengers and so provide less public
growth, the distribution among airspace users, benefit than commercial aviation per operation
the demands on various types of facilities and
or per unit of airspace use.
the kinds of services that will be required. As a
result, there are sharp disputes about how to ac- At a more general level, the prospects of traf-
commodate this growth or to influence the form fic growth and capacity limitations raise the
and direction it may take. issue of strategic response to accommodating
future demand. In the past, the approach has
FAA’s projections have led it to conclude that
been essentially to accommodate demand wher-
severe capacity restrictions will manifest them-
ever and whenever it occurred, i.e., the aim has
selves in terminal areas and some parts of the en
been to foster growth in civil aviation. Some
route system and that perhaps as many as 20 air-
question whether this approach is still desirable,
ports may be saturated by 2000. To accommo-
arguing that demand and the growth of air activ-
date this expected growth, the FAA proposes the
ity should be managed and directed in ways to
addition of new airport capacity and ATC facil-
make the most productive use of airspace and
ities designed to handle higher traffic volumes.
the most efficient use of existing facilities.
However, past FAA forecasts have consistently
projected higher rates of growth than have ac- Basically, there are three forms of action that
tually materialized, casting doubt on the current can be taken to influence growth: regulatory,
FAA forecasts and the expected demand for economic, and technological. Regulatory a c -
ATC services through the remainder of this cen- tions include measures imposed by the Govern-
tury. Some observers see trends already devel- ment that would control the use of the airspace
oping in a different way. They argue that recent or the availability of ATC services according to
16 ● Airport and Air Traffic Control System

user class or types of activity. Economic meas- tion and to avoid the costs that could result from
ures are those that would affect the cost or price delay or unexpected technical setbacks.
of using the airspace or that would allow market
Beyond these technical and managerial mat-
competition to determine access to facilities and
ters, there are more fundamental questions
services that are in high demand. Technological
about the role of FAA in planning and carrying
responses include not only improved forms of
out technological programs of this nature. Con-
ground-based and avionic equipment to increase
gress, for example, has questioned FAA’s pro-
the efficiency of airspace use, but also increases posed handling of the program for moderniza-
in airport capacity through construction of new
tion of its en route computer system, as have
or improved landing facilities. All three ap-
other members of the aviation community. They
proaches are likely to be used, and the issue is
not which to adopt but what combination and are concerned that FAA is not consulting ade-
with what relative emphasis. Ultimately, the quately with specific user groups and not taking
advantage of relevant expertise available outside
choice of measures will reflect a more fundamen-
the aviation community. Some of them foresee a
tal strategic decision about how to meet increas-
time when air traffic may have to be curtailed
ing demand. Chapter 4 presents a further discus-
simply because the technology to handle in-
sion of future growth, and chapters 5 and 6 ex-
creased traffic with an acceptable level of safety
amine the various responses to growth.
has not been properly planned, developed, and
deployed.
Technological Improvements
On the other side, there are those who defend
The many technological improvements of the FAA’s general strategy for ATC modernization
ATC system being contemplated by FAA fall and approve the way in which particular techno-
into four classes: logical programs are being handled. They argue
navigation and guidance systems;
●
that deployment must proceed at a cautious pace
surveillance;
● both because of the enormous uncertainties that
● communication; and
must be overcome and because there must be
● process improvements.
continuity of operations throughout the transi-
tion. In their view, the potential consequences of
These potential improvements have three major abrupt changes or premature decisions are more
characteristics: 1) most are technologically serious and, in the long run, more harmful to
sophisticated and require further development aviation than temporary curtailments that may
and testing before they can be operationally have to be imposed while technological dif-
deployed; 2) they will entail very large expendi- ficulties are being resolved.
tures by the Federal Government to put them in
place and— in most cases—additional costs to Chapters examines some of the technological
airspace users who will have to equip their air- issues surrounding proposed system improve-
craft with special avionics; and 3) many years ments, and chapter 7 addresses strategy and
will be required for full deployment. policy options for managing the transition.

There are several controversial aspects of Control Philosophy

these technologies. First, there are purely
technical and engineering questions that need to Perhaps the most fundamental issue underly-
be answered: will these new systems work as in- ing the proposed improvements in the ATC sys-
tended, what are their advantages and disadvan- tem is that of control philosophy—the principles
tages compared to existing technology, and how that should govern the future operation of the
can their development be managed so that op- system. The philosophy of the present system
tions are not foreclosed prematurely? As deci- for controlling IFR traffic is embodied in three
sions are made and implementation proceeds, it operational characteristics: the system is primar-
will be necessary to coordinate the program ily ground-based, highly centralized, and places
carefully in order to provide an orderly transi- great emphasis on standardized (i.e., predict-
 Ch. 2—lntroduction and Overview • 17

able) behavior by airspace users. In contrast, about 60 sites, compared to the present disper-
VFR traffic has little contact with the ATC sys- sion at over 300 locations.
tem, except with flight service stations and con-
trol towers at airports, and operates much as it Perhaps the best example of the trend toward
did in the early days of aviation, even though it centralization is the growing importance of the
shares airspace with IFR traffic in some in- Central Flow Control (CFC) facility at FAA
stances. headquarters in Washington, D. C., which acts
as a nerve center for the entire airspace system.
As ATC technology evolved the locus of deci- With the aid of computers, CFC reviews the na-
sionmaking under IFR began to shift from the tional weather picture and anticipated aircraft
cockpit to the ground. Routes were determined operations for the coming day and determines
by the placement of ground-based navigation the incidence and cost (extra fuel consumed) of
aids; surveillance was accomplished by reports delays that could occur because of weather and
to ground centers and later by search radar; and air traffic demand. This results in a daily opera-
observers in airport towers began to direct air- tional master plan that smooths demand among
craft in landing and takeoff patterns. As the den- airports and allows delays to be taken on the
sity of air traffic increased, ground-based ATC ground at the point of departure rather than in
personnel began to take more and more control holding patterns at the destination. The value of
over the altitude, route, and speed to be flown. this capability was demonstrated when capacity
To some extent this transfer of responsibility quotas were imposed as a consequence of the
was the inevitable consequence of the technol- August 1981 air traffic controllers’ strike. CFC
ogy employed, but organizational reasons also allowed a national airspace utilization plan to be
dictated ground-based control. Decisions con- developed, with detailed instructions to airports
cerning not the movement of individual aircraft and en route centers on how to manage traffic
but the pattern of traffic as a whole can best be and minimize the adverse effects of the capacity
made by a single person who is in a position to restrictions,
observe all flights operating throughout a
volume of airspace over a span of time. Coor- A system characteristic that accompanies
dination and direction of several aircraft re- ground-based centralization of control authority
quired that a single individual have authority is standardization of performance. FAA operat-
over others—a role that the pilot of a single air- ing procedures specify the behavior of pilots and
craft could not be expected to assume or that controllers in every circumstance, which in-
other pilots would accept. creases the reliability of system operation by
reducing uncertainty and by routinizing nearly
Ground basing implies concentration of con- every form of air-ground transaction. Safety is
trol at relatively few locations, and the trend has the prime motivating factor, but capacity and ef-
been for centralization to increase over time. ficiency are also highly important considera-
Again, the reasons are both technological and tions. Controller workload is reduced when the
organizational: centralization is organizationally range of possibilities they have to deal with is
advantageous because it consolidates functional- limited, and this in turn permits a given volume
ly similar activities and allows technical speciali- of traffic to be handled with less stress or, alter-
zation, both of which lead to greater efficiency nately, an increase in the number of aircraft each
and reliability of operation. For example, en controller can safely handle. Either way, the effi-
route traffic in continental U.S. airspace is now ciency of the ATC system (measured in terms of
controlled from 20 regional centers (ARTCCs, hourly throughput or controller productivity) is
and proposed ATC system improvements would increased, with a corresponding reduction in
lead to even further consolidation, with en route system operating cost.
and terminal control eventually merging into a
single type of facility. A similar trend toward Despite the advantages of ground-basing, cen-
centralization can be observed in FAA’s plans to tralization, and standardization, there are com-
consolidate flight service station activities at plaints about the control philosophy of the pre-
18 • Airport and Air Traffic Control System

sent system. Pilots complain that a ground- problems or assure the safety of high-density
based system detracts from their control over airspace are often controversial with some cate-
the conduct of the flight. Centralization may gories of users because they are perceived as in-
also be a problem if, by concentrating control fringements on their freedom to use NAS. GA
facilities or flight services, the personnel on the users feel particularly threatened, but air carriers
ground are less able to provide particularized in- and commuter airline operators have also voiced
structions or to take action based on localized concern. The military services as well are wary
knowledge of flight conditions. Standardization, of some new forms of ATC technology and the
by definition, limits the flexibility of response procedures that may accompany their use be-
and the freedom to pursue individual or special cause they may interfere with military missions
courses of action. or be incompatible with performance re-
quirements for combat aircraft.
The prospective changes in ATC technology
are viewed with mixed feelings by airspace users As the complexity of ATC technology has in-
and air traffic controllers. Technology that creased, so has the amount of equipment that
would increase the level of automation could, on must be carried on the aircraft and the amount
one hand, promote greater centralization and of controlled airspace from which VFR flight is
standardization of control functions and could excluded unless the aircraft is equipped with a
lead to increases in safety, capacity, or efficien- transponder to allow identification and tracking
cy, On the other, automation could serve to in- by the ATC system. Restrictions on airport use,
crease ground authority still further and to especially at large and medium hubs, have also
reduce the flexibility of the system in dealing grown more confining for VFR flights, and the
with nonroutine events. Technology like colli- airspace around many of the busiest airports is
sion avoidance systems or cockpit displays of now designated as a “terminal control area” in
traffic information could give back to the pilot which all aircraft are subject to air traffic control
critical information (and hence control respon- and may operate only under rules and equip-
sibility) and might enhance the pilot’s ability to ment requirements specified by FAA. GA, the
cooperate more effectively with the ground- principal user of the VFR system, finds itself
based controller. At the moment, these devices pressured in several ways. Uncontrolled airspace
are thought of as backups in the event of con- is shrinking and may disappear altogether; it is
troller or system error, but their prospective use becoming increasingly difficult to use metropoli-
also raises the possibility of independent pilot tan airports because of equipment requirements;
actions that might contravene controller instruc- and the cost of equipping the aircraft with IFR
tions or disrupt the overall pattern of traffic. avionics and acquiring an instrument rating are
often out of economic reach for the personal GA
Chapter S, which deals with these and other
pilot. Prospective technological improve-
forms of advanced aviation technology for
ments—such as the Traffic Alert and Collision
ground-based and airborne application, treats
Avoidance System (TCAS), data link, or MLS—
the issues that arise from prospective changes in
distribution of control between the air and the are viewed by many GA users as further restric-
tions on their access to airports and airspace.
ground or from further centralization of ATC
functions and services. Many of them feel that, while this new technol-
ogy may be desirable or even necessary for air
carriers and larger business aircraft, it should
Freedom of Airspace Use not be required of all GA users or made a pre-
requisite for IFR services or access to commercial
The rising demand for ATC services and the airports.
prospect of congestion at more and more major
airports are the basic stimuli for many of the Commuter airline operators share some of
technological improvements and procedural these GA concerns. Virtually all commuter and
changes now being sought by the FAA. How- air taxi operators are equipped for IFR operation
ever, the very measures that might ease capacity and find their needs well served by the present
 Ch. 2—Introduction and Overview ● 19
—

ATC technology. They see little further advan- Automation and Controller Functions
tage in new technology and are concerned about
the expense of having two sets of equipment Despite the vast complex of ground-based
serving the same purpose—advanced avionics equipment and facilities for surveillance, com-
needed for a high-density terminal at one end of munication, and data processing, ATC remains
the flight and present-day equipment that may a highly labor-intensive activity. FAA is keenly
be useful for many years to come at small com- aware of this and has sought for some time to
munity airports. They are also concerned that find ways to automate selected ATC functions.
the more advanced avionics might eventually However, most of the automation that has been
lead to more restrictive rules of operation or ac- instituted so far has been to assist air traffic con-
cess to terminal areas. Thus, many commuter trollers rather than replace them. Decisionmak-
and air taxi operators would favor a dual-mode ing and communication—two major elements of
system that allowed them to retain their present controller workload—have not been automated
IFR avionics even though more advanced forms to any appreciable degree, and the ratio of con-
were in use by other types of aircraft operators. troller work force to aircraft handled has re-
mained relatively constant. In addition, the
Military aviation operates under the civil present method of backup to automated control
ATC system in all shared airspace and under functions involves reversion to manual proce-
military control in areas restricted to military dures used in the previous generation of ATC
use. In flying through civil airspace to and from equipment; this method of assuring service in
training areas, military aircraft must often fol- the event of outages has tended to perpetuate the
low circuitous routes or observe altitude and team size and staffing patterns of the previous
speed restrictions that lengthen transit time. The generation.
military services would prefer an arrangement
that allows more direct access to training areas Plans for an advanced generation of ATC call
and avoids operation in mixed airspace. Air car- for automation of several manual controller
riers have a different view: the most direct functions: conflict prediction and resolution,
routes for trunk airlines are often blocked by terminal area metering and spacing, flight plan
restricted military areas, and the air carriers approval and issue of clearances, and communi-
argue for procedures that would allow them to cating routine control instructions to individual
traverse these areas in the interest of shortening aircraft. Such forms of automation could lead to
flight time and saving fuel. substantial increases in controller productivity
and might eventually provide the basis for a
Another issue has to do with new technology more extensively automated system in which
that might be adopted for civil aviation, which most routine control functions are carried out by
in most cases would be extra equipment for mili- computers, with the human controller acting in
tary aircraft. For combat aircraft, particularly the role of manager and overseer of machine
fighters, the space for avionics and antennas is operation.
often at a premium. While careful coordination
of military and civil requirements can eliminate This path of evolution raises three important
some of these problems, certain basic incompati- groups of issues. First, there are questions about
bilities are likely to remain and to produce con- the feasibility and advisability of replacing the
tinuing controversy. human controller to such an extent. ATC now
relies heavily on judgment and awareness of the
The issues of freedom of airspace access and dynamics and subtleties of the air traffic situa-
use are discussed further in chapters in connec- tion. Some observers doubt that all of these
tion with specific forms of new aviation technol- characteristics could be dependably incorpo-
ogy. rated into computer software in the foreseeable
20 . Airport and Air Traffic Control System

future. The proponents of automation argue it would be better to keep all control of individ-
that much of the routine, repetitive, or predic- ual flight paths under one authority.
tive work of ATC is ideally suited to computers,
and that an incremental approach to automation Chapter 5 contains a further examination of
the issue of automation in connection with the
will help solve many of the problems since each
discussion of the proposed en route computer re-
new step can build on successful previous ad-
vances. placement program and the mechanization of
the Mode S data link and TCAS systems.
A second major set of issues is the reliability
of automated systems and the backup methods Funding and Cost Allocation
to be used when the inevitable equipment
failures occur. Experience with the present The expenditures that are likely to be required
automated ATC equipment indicates that com- for ATC system improvements over the coming
puter failure rates are a cause for concern, and years could be considerably higher than those of
the loss of computer-supplied data may mean past years. For the period 1971 to 1980, the
that ground personnel lose effective control of amounts budgeted for facilities and equipment
traffic until manual backup procedures are in- (F&E) and associated research, engineering, and
stituted—a process that may take several min- development (RE&D) have averaged $397 mil-
utes to complete. Computer experts maintain lion and $106 million respectively (in constant
that equipment and software reliability can be 1980 dollars).3 Future improvements of the en
greatly improved and that automated systems route and terminal area ATC system and related
can be designed to be more failure tolerant. programs for flight service station, navigation,
These experts also contend that present ex- and communication facility modernization may
perience with manual procedures as backups to call for spending at twice this annual level or
outages of automated equipment indicates a fun- more. At the same time, operating and mainte-
damental flaw in design philosophy because the nance (O&M) costs are expected to rise, at least
proper backup to an automated system is not until modern labor-saving equipment is installed
manual operation, but another automated sys- and productivity gains begin to be realized.
tem. Critics of automation question the accept- Since creation of the Airport and Airways
ability of a system in which the human con- Trust Fund in 1970, FAA has had two sources of
troller has no effective means of intervening in funding. F&E, RE&D, and airport grants-in-aid
degraded states of operation. have been covered wholly by appropriations
A third issue is whether some of the respon- from the trust fund. In addition, the trust fund
sibility that now resides with the ground-based has covered about 15 percent of O&M expenses,
system ought not to be transferred to, or at least although this proportion has varied consider-
shared with, the cockpit. A pilot in an aircraft ably from year to year. The balance of O&M
equipped with an airborne collision avoidance costs, about $1.9 billion per year (1980 dollars),
system and a display of the immediately sur- and all other FAA budget items have been from
rounding air traffic might be in a superior posi- general fund appropriations. Overall, trust fund
tion to select the appropriate maneuver in case outlays have met about 40 percent of annual
of conflict; in effect, such an airborne system FAA expenses. The major source of revenue for
would create a mode of IFR operation similar to the trust fund has been a tax levied on domestic
the present VFR system. The chief disadvantage and international airline passengers (see fig. 2).
of this concept is that it could lead pilots to make In October 1980, the Airport and Airways De-
a series of short-term tactical responses that velopment Act expired, and Congress declined
might not be consistent with the overall scheme to pass reauthorizing legislation. At that time
of managing traffic in congested airspace. In this the trust fund had an uncommitted balance of
case, the ground system would still have to act
in the capacity of referee, and some contend that 3
0TA calculations based on FAA budget data, 1971-80.
 Ch. 2—Introduction and Overview • 21
—————————— — .

Figure 2.— FAA Budget and Funding Sources, 1971-80

General
fund

SOURCE: Off Ice of Technology Assessment, based on FAA budget data, 1971-80.

and partly in the Highway Trust Fund. If these

$2.9 billion, the equivalent of about 2 years’ ex-
penditure at the then prevailing rate. Since that revenues are included and if authorizations from
the trust fund during fiscal year 1981 are de-
time some of the user taxes contributing to the
ducted, the uncommitted trust fund balance
trust fund have still been collected (but at re-
stood at roughly $3 billion at the beginning of
duced rates of taxation), and these revenues
have been deposited partly in the General Fund fiscal year 1982.
22 ● Airport and Air Traffic Control System

In considering sources of funding for future paid nearly all (88 percent) of the cost of services
airport and ATC system improvements, Con- provided to them. On the other hand, general
gress will encounter three broad and long-stand- aviation taxes returned at almost one quarter of
ing areas of controversy. In the absence of a allocated costs.4 GA representatives have disa-
trust fund or some other form of user charges to greed strongly with these findings, arguing that
support capital improvement programs, these there is a substantial public benefit of aviation
parts of the FAA budget would have to be that has been undervalued in these cost alloca-
funded from general revenues, which is certain tion studies and that GA is charged for facilities
to raise the issue of whether civil aviation and and services that are neither required nor used
the airport and ATC system should be subsi- by a major part of GA operators. Congress has
dized by the general public. The argument that shown little inclination to alter the user charge
the recipients of a service should pay the costs structure, and most of the proposed legislation
for the Federal Government to provide that serv- to reestablish the trust fund would have little ef-
ice (a position strongly supported by the present fect on the distribution of user charges that ex-
administration), holds that capital improve- isted previously.
ments of facilities and equipment and the O&M
The third area of controversy concerns how
costs of running the airport and ATC system
the collected levies should be applied to costs.
should be borne by airspace users through vari- By congressional action, the use of trust fund
ous specific taxes. On the other hand, it can be moneys is restricted largely to capital expendi-
argued that civil aviation, like other modes of
tures and research and development activities,
transportation, provides a general benefit and with some contribution toward operating ex-
therefore deserves support with public moneys. penditures. There are two major points at issue:
Other modes of transportation receive subsidy 1) how should expenditures for capital improve-
from the Government, and some members of the ments be allocated between airports and ATC
aviation community contend that there is no jus- facilities and equipment (and among airports
tification for singling out civil aviation for full and ATC facilities used by various types of avia-
recovery of capital and operating costs.
tion); and 2) should the allocation be broadened
The resolution of this issue that has prevailed to cover a substantial part (or perhaps all) of
for the past 10 years has been a combination of O&M costs.
special users taxes and General Fund financing, Resolution of these issues will become espe-
with the former going for capital expenditures cially important when FAA presents its long-
and a small share of operating costs and the lat- range plan for ATC system improvement. In-
ter for the balance of FAA costs. A perpetuation creased expenditures for facilities and equipment
of this scheme, through reestablishment of the
and associated R&D will be called for, and oper-
Airport and Airways Trust Fund, could embroil
ating expenses will probably remain high. FAA
Congress in another issue—what is the “fair” will be seeking a long-term commitment and an
amount to be paid by various user classes. Most
assured source of funding, but it will face strong
people concede that each user should pay rough-
opposition from segments of the aviation com-
ly in proportion to the cost that they impose on
munity if paying for FAA’s programs and oper-
the system, but there is violent disagreement
ating costs entails an increase in user taxes or a
within the aviation community as to what these
reallocation of the share to be borne by various
costs are and how they are to be reckoned. Cost
classes of airspace users.
allocation studies conducted by the Department
of Transportation and the FAA have generally
‘J. M. Rodgers, Financing the Airport gnd Air-way System; Cost
concluded that, under the tax structure that ex- Allocation and Recovery, FAA-AVP-78-14 (Washington, D. C.:
isted before October 1980, commercial aviation Federal Aviation Administration, November 1978).