Modernization of Air Traffic Management and Control-a Global Perspective

With increasing globalization and worldwide prosperity, demand for air travel is expected to grow three-fold in the next 20 years. Today's approach to air traffic control-a manually intensive, centralized process that relies on ground-based controllers-is not scalable to such projected levels. The dramatic increase in expected future traffic density will necessitate greater use of automation and will give rise to challenging problems in distributed multi-vehicle coordination and control. In this session, we will review the current air traffic management scenario and upcoming modernization R&D and deployment initiatives. Developments in the U.S., Europe, and the emerging regions of the Middle East, India and China will be discussed. Presentations in the session will also highlight two specific sets of problems, one focused on safety and another on capacity improvement of air travel. The session will conclude with an overview of upcoming research programs funded by FAA, NASA, Eurocontrol, and the European Commission.