ALPA Continues Participation in Modernization Discussions

March 7, 2009 - ALPA safety representatives continue to participate in government/industry collaborative efforts to define the National Airspace System of the future. Two meetings of the newly formed NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task Force took place in the last week.

The group was chartered by the FAA to identify those aspects of the Next Generation Air Transportation System that can be reasonably achieved in the next few years. In the early meetings, organizational details are being developed to ensure that all stakeholders’ views on modernization are heard. Early emphasis is on improving capacity and efficiency by taking advantage of the capability currently on or available to many airplanes.

The group has set an ambitious agenda, intending to meet weekly to hash out details of what can be reasonably done to help ease congestion and capacity problems relatively quickly while more sophisticated, longer-term solutions also are being pursued.