ATC

News, issues, personnel, equipment and developments about air traffic management.

Airports

AIN Roundtable—Preparing for Advanced Air Mobility

Industry leaders mull needs for the future of AAM
AIN Roundtable January 2023 participants
Safety

EASA Issues Updated Volcanic Ash Airspace Safety Bulletin

Flights have yet to be disrupted by Monday's volcanic eruption in Iceland
EASA volcanic ash bulletin
ATC

GAO: ‘Mixed Progress’ for FAA’s NextGen Plan

A new report shows the agency has missed milestones in its ATC modernization plan
Air traffic control tower cab
ATC

Europe's Free Route Airspace Opens Up Direct Routes

Free route airspace expansion has been implemented by control centers in Maastricht and Karlsruhe
Eurocontrol’s Maastricht Upper Area Control and the DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung’s Upper Area Control Center
ATC

How WAAS Turned into a Must-have System

Once the subject of criticism, WAAS is on the majority of general aviation aircraft
WAAS locations (Image: the FAA)
Safety

AINsight: Wait, Wait, Don’t Take Off!

Runway incursions involving business jets are on the rise as crews misunderstand line up and wait instructions
A Learjet crosses in front of a landing Embraer jet at Boston's Logan International Airport
ATC

Eve To Supply Urban ATM System for Dubai Vertiport Ops

KookieJar has signed an LOI with Eve
Eve
ATC

Saab Launches Large Airport Digital Tower Solution

The I-DTS combines Saab’s remote tower technology with its automated system expertise.
i-DTS operator console
ATC

Vertiport Management System Will Support VTOL Aircraft

Anra Technologies has rolled out its web-based flight and ground infrastructure management software
Anra control screen
Safety

Blocked Comm Eyed in B737-Cessna Citation Near Collision

Business jet overflew the airliner by about 100 feet during the incident
ATC

Increasing Fake GPS Signals Near Iran Prompt FAA Alert

Ops Group has tracked at least 20 such spoofing incidents
Ops Group depiction of Embraer Legacy 650 off course after GPS spoofing (Image: Ops Group)
ATC

Dyami: GPS Spoofing Raising Flags about Vulnerabilities

Training and risk assessments are key to responding to GPS spoofing
Op Group of fake GPS occurrences (Image: Ops Group)
ATC

Ops, Security Experts Alert of GPS Spoofing Near Iran

A dozen reports of GPS spoofing near Iran have surfaced
Ops Group maps the fake GPS occurrences (Image: Ops Group)
ATC

European Organizations Call for Action on Single Sky

European Single sky implementation improve efficiency, lower carbon footprints, orgs say
Canso iStock image of European Single Sky (SES2)
ATC

Senate Bill Targets Air Traffic Controller Hiring

NATCA warns staff is down by 1,200 controllers
air traffic controller (Photo: the National Air Traffic Controllers Association)
ATC

NATCA: Controller Shortages Will Cause More Disruptions

Controller staffing is down 10 percent over past decade
Controller at Dulles International Airport (Photo: Bill Carey)
ATC

NASA’s ASRS Callback: Beware the Visual Approach

Bizjet gets a wild ride on approach to San Francisco Airport
Regulations and Government

EASA Introduces VTOL Aircraft Policy Changes

Changes to rules for urban air mobility would need revisions to EU aviation regulations
Volocopter eVTOL aircraft flight in Paris
ATC

Pilot Errors Prompt FAA Alert on CPDLC Procedures

Document offers clearer guidance to pilots
ATC

Montreal Flight Region Expands CPDLC to Route Clearances

CPDLC Had Been Limited over Montreal
Montreal-Dorval Airport (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Safety

AINsight: Dark Side of Visual Approaches

Learning from the mistakes of others
Passo Fundo Airport (PFB), Runway
ATC

Biz Leaders Voice Objections to ATC Privatization

A recent editorial raised concerns from a group of business leaders and pilots that ATC could become an issue once more.
Controller at Washington Dulles International Airport (Photo: Bill Carey)
Airports

Leeds East Airport Offers New Option for Northern England

The former RAF base now has an RNP instrument approach, giving improved access for business aircraft, as well as a new FBO building.
New FBO building at Leeds East Airport.
ATC

Getting To Yes on CPDLC

The FAA has taken concrete steps to enable use of CPDLC by more business jets, but it still needs to establish performance criteria.
Garmin cockpit
ATC

FAA Calls Trajectory-based Flight Demo a Success

Working across nations, the FAA successfully concluded a six-day demonstration to optimize flights using Trajectory Based Operations.
Flight routes using Trajectory Based Operations (Graphic: the FAA)
ATC

FAA Seeks Comments on Draft Tower Environmental Review

The FAA has opened for comment a draft environmental assessment for the replacement of 31 aging air traffic control towers at small airports.
Digital rendering of sustainable tower design
ATC

DOT IG Finds Planning Lacking To Address ATC Staffing

NATCA is calling on the FAA to take action to address ATC staffing shortfall, noting latest DOT IG report finds a lack of planning on the issue.
Controller at Dulles International Airport (Photo: Bill Carey)
ATC

Leesburg Moving On from Its Remote Tower

The town of Leesburg, Virginia will use an FAA mobile tower to temporarily replace the remote tower that had operated at Leesburg Executive Airport.
Aerial view of Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia
ATC

Saab Launches Deployable Remote ATC Tower

Saab now offers its remote tower technology in a rapidly deployable package for expeditionary operations.
Saab r-TWR Deployable air traffic control tower system