In a recent column published in Aviation Week & Space Technology, ACI-NA President Greg Principato had this to say about the Next-Generation Air Transportation System: NextGen begins and ends at airports.
Greg cites a recent report by the RTCA NextGen Task Force, which focused its NextGen recommendations on areas directly impacting airports, including surface, runway access, metroplex operations and national airspace system access.
Airports are the doorways to the National Airspace System, and delays and congestion at these doorways directly harm communities’ economic competitiveness by increasing travel and shipping costs. NextGen promises to reduce delays through various means (among them: by reducing the impact that poor weather conditions have on airport capacity).
Greg also points out that each airport is unique, with operations determined by its location, demographics, usage patterns and budgets. Therefore, when it comes to implementing NextGen at airports, one size will not fit all.