Slump Delays Need for Satellite-Based Air Traffic Control

摘要

While U.S. aviation industry officials still anticipate the need for a satellite-based air traffic control system to handle expected growth in air travel, the industry's post-Sept. 11 problems have made development of such a system a low priority for the near term. Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had laid out a 10-year plan for improving air traffic flow that included replacing traditional ground-based systems with satellites. In response, Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. set up business units to develop satellite systems for air traffic control. Now with global air traffic just beginning to rebound, the FAA is focusing on simpler ways to improve air traffic flow in the near-term, and both companies have folded their development programs into other business units and scaled back their efforts.