ATC

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

ATC

FAA Regrouping on Remote Towers

As Europe and other parts of the world expand their use of remote-tower technologies, the FAA is pulling back and halting such projects at two airports.
Heathrow remote tower
ATC

En Route CPDLC to Reopen for New Business Jets

The FAA plans to allow business and general aviation aircraft to resume using enroute CPDLC by August 31.
Aerial view of Gulfstream G650ER in flight over ocean
ATC

NASA Uses PC-12 for Advanced Air Mobility Flight Trials

NASA is utilizing a PC-12 to test cell tower signal strength in the greater Cleveland area to assess communications infrastructure for eVTOL aircraft.
NASA's Pilatus PC-12 aircraft on airport ramp
Airports

Manila Starts Air Traffic Upgrades Amid Power Outage Probe

Philippine authorities called for a probe on Tuesday to investigate Manila’s May 1 Terminal 3 power outage a day before air traffic system upgrades begin.
Representatives from several Philippine authorities around conference table
Airlines

FAA Activates New, Faster Routes along U.S. East Coast

The 169 new routes activated by the FAA on Monday replaces 'legacy' routes based on ground radar.
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ATC

Canada Sets ADS-B Flight Plan, Non-equipped Rules

Nav Canada outlined flight plan procedures for flying with ADS-B and for handling of limited exceptions of those without ADS-B after the mandate deadline.
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ATC

FAA Weighs Aircraft Versus Spacecraft Airspace Needs

With increasing space operations frequency and launch sites, the FAA is trying to strike a balance on aircraft and spacecraft airspace needs.
SpaceX Dragon launch
ATC

ERAU Students Test Reliable Robotics’ Remote-pilot Tech

Students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, tested Reliable Robotics’ communication system for remotely piloted aircraft.
Reliable Robotics' Cessna 208 Caravan flying over clouds
ATC

FAA Selects Sustainable Design for Tower Replacements

The FAA has set aside $500 million to lay the groundwork to replace 31 aging air traffic control towers with new, sustainable facilities.
Digital rendering of FAA new small airport ATC tower design
ATC

Controller Hiring on Track but New York Tracon Far Understaffed

Despite meeting its hiring goals, the FAA continues to suffer air traffic controller shortages at the New York Tracon.
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ATC

NBAA Asks FAA To Continue Remote Tower Ops at Leesburg

After eight years, the FAA has decided to discontinue remote tower operations in Leesburg, Virginia, raising concerns from NBAA.
Mobile tower Saab used as part of its remote tower demonstration
Airlines

European Airlines Cautiously Optimistic on Summer Disruptions

Airlines for Europe member airlines expect stronger demand and markedly less disruption than during last year's chaotic summer season.
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ATC

Philippine Senate Calls for Legislative Changes after ATC Outage

Legislators have adopted findings and recommendations stemming from a committee probe into Manila’s January 1 air traffic control (ATC) power outage.
Senator Grace Poe
ATC

ICAO Adopts Multi-constellation Standards for GNSS

The International Civil Aviation Organization considers the rollout of new dual-frequency multi-constellation standards a ‘major milestone’.
Satellite in orbit above the Earth
Airlines

Ryanair Decries Continuing French ATC Strikes

Europe’s largest low-cost airline launched a petition calling for the European Commission to allow overflights when French controllers stage a strike.
Ryanair director of operations Neal McMahon (left) and CEO Eddie Wilson hold signs calling for customers to sign a petition to allow for French overflights while air traffic controllers in the country stage strikes.
Airlines

GPS Jamming of Qantas Jets Spotlights Long-standing Issues

GPS/GNSS signal interference has become more common in the aviation industry.
Qantas A330-200 on takeoff
ATC

DOT IG Initiates Another Audit of FAA NextGen Program

The DOT Office of Inspector General has initiated another audit of the FAA's NextGen airspace modernization program.
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ATC

Philippine Probe Rules Out Sabotage in New Year’s ATC Power Outage

An Philippine Senate investigation found no evidence of sabotage or a cybersecurity attack relating to Manila’s January 1 air traffic control power outage.
Stranded passengers during Manila ATC outage on Jan. 1, 2023
ATC

FreeFlight Terrain Radar Altimeters Block 5G Interference

The manufacturer has appointed AvPanels as a preferred reseller for equipment it says is the first major upgrade to radio frequency circuits in decades.
AvPanels Bell Helicopters
ATC

RTCA Head Pushes for Digital Flight Ops

RTCA CEO Terry McVenes wants industry cooperation to develop and implement digital air traffic control technology to accommodate advanced air mobility.
Digital rendering of eVTOL vehicles in flight over city
ATC

FAA Clarifies Instrument Approach Categories

A revised FAA document offers expand guidance on what aircraft approach categories pilots should use for instrument procedures.
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ATC

Revised North Atlantic Ops Manual Published

ICAO has revised its North Atlantic operations and airspace manual, and flight planner OpsGroup is helping pilots make sense of the changes via a summary.
Graphic of North Atlantic Track with airplane flight tracks depicted on map
ATC

JetNet Buys ADS-B Exchange

The acquisition of ADS-B Exchange enables JetNet to expand into real-time flight data while ADS-B Exchange said it can maintain its unfiltered data.
(Photo: ADS-B Exchange
Airlines

Somalian Airspace To Become Class A, Restoring ATC Services

The installation of modern navigation aids ends a 30-year interruption of full air traffic control operations over Somalia and the surrounding region.
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Airlines

FAA Attributes Failure of Notam IT System to Human Error

IT personnel failed to follow procedure while working on the computer system that generates Notams, according to the FAA.
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Airlines

FAA Blames Damaged Database File for Notam System Outage

Investigations into the latest air transport system meltdown in the U.S. begin as traffic flows return to normal after a software glitch grounds flights.
Newark Airport in the New York City area experienced significant disruption.
Airports

Airbus Tests Autonomous Flight Diversions, Taxiway Support

The aircraft maker's DragonFly technology could enable automated diversions in response to medical emergencies and improve safety at busy airports.
Airbus UpNext fitted three external cameras to an A350-1000 for flight testing.
ATC

NBAA Urges Enhanced Redundancies for Notam System

NBAA said the industry has been pushing for improvements and enhanced redundancies for the Notam system for four years.
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ATC

FAA Lifts Grounding Order Following U.S. Notam Outage

Normal airline operations resumed at about 9 a.m. after a failure of the U.S. notam system forced the cancellation of some 850 flights.
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Airlines

Eurocontrol Calls 2022 a ‘Bounceback’ Year, Sees 2025 Recovery

Europe saw air traffic increase to 83 percent of 2019 levels at the end of last year.
Polish Lot aircraft on airport taxiway