Air Traffic Management

This article provides an overview of Air Traffic Management (ATM) in the United States, brief review of current aviation operations, research under development, and technology and infrastructure upgrades currently being deployed to enable the current aviation system to meet the needs of future aviation systems. Improvements are taking place in all phases of flight to achieve more efficiency, meet demand, and reduce emissions while maintaining safety. Air traffic operations need to be harmonized across all parts of the globe to achieve standardization and efficiency of operations. With investment in new aircraft, higher oil prices and labor costs squeezing airline profits, greater automation, and decentralization will be needed to sustain aviation systems. A fundamental challenge will be to develop the functional relationship between pilots, air traffic controllers, and other human decision makers in the presence of greater automation. The benefits of new technologies have to be demonstrated for speedier adaptation by industry.