Depending on whose predictions you believe, by 2025, the number of commercial aircraft operations in the US will grow by a factor of 2 to 3 when compared to 2004 levels. Let's put that growth in perspective: compared with today's levels, our current air transportation system was handling a third fewer operations in 1977.* That was roughly 30 years ago! Therefore, the current rate of growth could be roughly double that seen by the previous generation. The system itself was not conceived to handle the traffic levels of today, let alone the tremendous growth that is forecast for the future. As a result, it is now experiencing great stress. Significant improvements have been made over the years to get to where we are while maintaining, arguably, the highest standards of safety of any transportation method in the world. However, it is widely recognized that the current air transportation system will not be sufficient to meet the projected traffic demands. What will we need to do in the future to ensure that aviation continues to be a driver for the national economy? Build better and more advanced aircraft? Create a better air traffic management (ATM) system?
The answer is likely to be found in the Next Generation Air Transportation System—NextGen—a system that will use satellites and advanced computer technology and communications similar to the internet to enable a future system of air transportation that is safe, dependable, and secure, and that is able to accommodate the predicted levels of demand. Efforts to define NextGen are being led by tthe Joint Program Development Office (JPDO) in collaboration with a number of government agencies including the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
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