NATA believes that an advanced traffic management system could provide dramatic benefits to all users including reducing delays and the need for capacity benchmarks. Clearly, airspace capacity would be increased exponentially, and runway utilization could be increased by fifty percent or more. Another technology for which we must expand utilization is satellite-based systems to allow the aviation industry and the FAA capabilities to reach far beyond the current status quo. Direct routing for aircraft, increasing air traffic, conserving fuel, and safer precision landing capabilities at hundreds of airports currently without precision landing systems are possible with satellite technology. Technology can and should be used to increase human productivity, and systems can and should be designed to maximize the utilization of capital investments.
Progress means figuring how to get around the limits of yesterday.
I believe it is time to use technology to create a more efficient air transportation system and reduce airport congestion and delays. The Future Try as we might, there are some incontrovertible facts that we all must accept and accordingly learn to overcome. First, demand is going to increase significantly. Second, we simply will not be able to add new runways quickly enough to meet this demand at our nation s busiest airports. Third, the public s patience with delays will quickly vanish.