Say Good-bye to Radar — and Flight Delays?

by Catherine Bodry on

The Federal Aviation Administration is hoping to use a new technology that relies on an aircraft tracking system based on GPS rather than radar. The new system, known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), will also have a high-speed data network that allows aircraft to transmit information to one another and the ground as if they were on the Internet.

This technology will hopefully allow jets to fly much closer to each other with less risk of collision, and therefore “save the aviation system from the stranglehold of flight delays.”

Currently, air traffic control relies on radar, which sometimes spins as slowly as once every 12 seconds. But jets at high altitude can travel more than one mile in 12 seconds, so the FAA has to keep planes 5 miles apart. With ADS-B, planes will be able to fly within 3 miles of each other, hopefully making your wait at the airport that much shorter.

Read the full article at USA Today

Interested in Air Traffic Control? Watch this.

by Justin Glow on


There are roughly 15,000 air-traffic controllers orchestrating over 55,000 commercial flights per day in the U.S. alone. It’s no wonder the position is called “the most stressful job in the world,” where “one mistake — one slip of the tongue — can lead to disaster.” Check out the short documentary above, which interviews air traffic controllers in Washington Dulles International Airport, “the second busiest trans-Atlantic gateway on the Eastern Seaboard,” scheduling roughly one take-off or landing per minute.

Interested in becoming an air traffic controller? Read this. [via]

Worst U.S. Airport for On-Time Arrivals. Departures Aren’t Much Better

by Jamie Rhein on

The verdict came in the beginning of February. Newark Liberty International Airport has the worst record of airports in the U.S. for airplanes arriving on time. Only a third of them pull up to the gate when the schedule says. The departures, although, not the worst, aren’t much better.

Blame it on the same thing that ails doctors, I say. When I read the reasons for the off-schedule comings and goings, it reminded me of how you can show up for a doctor’s appointment exactly when your name is to be called and still have time to get through two or three magazine articles before you’re ushered into the examination room only to wait some more.

See, Newark shares air space with John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports (also on the bottom of the on-time barrel) so during busy times of the day, which means all day for these three, airlines have too many planes scheduled to take off and land at times that are too close together.

Bad weather in places like Denver and Atlanta can also influence Newark air travel. This photo, taken in January and posted on Flickr by Kevin, tells the truth of this travel woe story. Because airlines are opting to fly more smaller jets, this means more take offs and landings. Therefore, if one thing goes wrong there is a chain reaction. Like when you are at the doctor’s office and the receptionist says, “Oh, by the way, there was an emergency at 10 AM.” You look at the clock and don’t say, “But, it’s 4 PM now.” Instead, you sit back down and flip to another article.

If arriving on time is important, head to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport. Its record for on-time arrivals is the best. If heading overseas, fly out of Salt Lake City to leave when the schedule says. Otherwise, if Newark is your desination or point of departure, remember to bring a good magazine and don’t watch the time.