Faster, safer flying on the horizon
Posted at: 10/21/2009 9:50 PM
| Updated at: 10/22/2009 7:34 AM
By: Jeff Maher, Eyewitness News 4; Matthew Kappus, KOB.com
The airline industry has begun changing the way it tracks flights. For passengers, it will mean a quicker way to their destination. For the Sunport, it could bring long-overdue upgrades.
Southwest Airlines, the most popular airline at the Sunport, is on board to try out the new FAA initiative—tracking flights with GPS. Control towers will use satellite navigation systems to direct traffic the sky.
It allows air traffic controllers to safely position planes closer together and allow them to use something similar to HOV lanes, but in the sky. Officials say it will shave seven to 10 minutes off travel time.
Sunport spokesperson Daniel Jiron doesn't know when the technology will make its way to our airport since Albuquerque is not a major hub. But he says it is long overdue.
"From an airport operator's perspective, anything that will improve safety, that will cut down on travel time for passengers and make a more pleasant experience for the traveling public, we're fully in support of that," he said.
For the next six months, Southwest Airlines will be training its 6,000 pilots to fly new fast tracks into airports.
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