The New Model at ATCA in Texas
My thanks to everyone who has posted to this thread. Readers may be interested to know that I was invited to present my paper “A New Model for Automation in Air Traffic Control” at the ATCA Conference in Texas this week. The paper is now available on my website. I had many comments in support of the approach from USAF and RAF personnel as well as from operational FAA controllers.
The conference plenary sessions were full of references to NGATS (Next Generation Air Transportation System), NEO (Network Enabled Operations) and SESAME (Single European Sky ATM Master-Plan for Europe). Unfortunately, none of these programmes are starting out with a clear Concept of Operations. They all intend to define what they have to do during the first phase.
The conference (significantly in my view) did not talk about the controller’s role in any future system, about emissions and global warming or about how developing areas outside the USA and Europe would be able to afford the massive costs. Even in the Europe and the USA there are significant difficulties in funding ATM development and operation.
I submit again that (even with the need to address important issues such as human factors) the New Model is the only fully consistent Concept of Operations for the ATM system of the future with a place for the controller. I commend it again to those of you who are controllers as it was designed after speaking with many of you in the UK and Europe. Whatever reservations you may have I think it offers the best future for all of us.
Last edited by NewModelATC; 4th November 2005 at 18:32.