Sat, Jun 13, 2009
GA May Also Benefit If Airspace Restrictions Eased
To help reduce delays, the FAA and
U.S. Air Force are exploring ways that civilian flights can
regularly use airspace that is normally reserved for the
military.
The Adaptive Airspace Concept is designed to relieve delays on
commercial and general aviation flights when thunderstorms, a large
number of flights or other constraints limit the number of planes
that can pass through commercial airspace.
During periods of heavy air travel, such as the days before and
after Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Department of Defense has
already turned over portions of special use airspace to the FAA to
ease air traffic delays. Last Thanksgiving, the FAA created
“express lanes” for commercial flights using military
airspace on the East and West Coasts, and in the Midwest and the
Southwest.
The Adaptive Airspace Concept is examining a more permanent way
to use this airspace.
One of the ideas under consideration is expanding the Air
Force’s available airspace and subdividing it into boxes.
That way, the Air Force could shift its operations into boxes of
sky the FAA doesn’t need, and let civilian traffic fly
through the boxes that allow for the most efficient movement of
airplanes, reducing delays.
Currently the Air Force is the only military participant in the
program, though the other branches of the military are watching and
may participate if the effort proves successful.
Couple that up with NextGen navigation, and it might finally be
relatively efficient to get from point "A" to point "B".
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