OVERVIEW

Currently, the nation’s air transportation system is stretched thin, handling 750 million passengers each year, leading to congestion and delays that frustrate and discourage air travelers. The number of passengers traveling by air will likely increase to 1 billion by 2015, which will lead to ever-increasing levels of congestion unless the air transportation system is fundamentally transformed. At the core of the problem is that the current air traffic control system is outdated and inefficient, relying on World War II-era radar and technologies.

U.S. TRAVEL POSITION

U.S. Travel believes that the U.S. government must work to reduce air travel delays, eliminate congestion and move people and goods as quickly and efficiently as possible by building new runways, installing new technology, and putting new procedures in place to facilitate capacity and efficiency enhancements. In particular, technology upgrades and capacity improvement projects at major airports are needed. Further, investing in and modernizing the air traffic control system must be a national priority. As such, we could reduce delays and cancellations, while increasing capacity and flow. The United States must move forward with the Next Generation Air Transportation System initiative, utilizing state-of-the-art ground and air satellite-based technologies as soon as possible. If there is a failure to act, the already strained system could reach gridlock.