New GPS-like technology to help airplane operations be more efficient and timely will be the focus of several public hearings this week at area airports.
The hearings will focus on the implementation of The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, and its environmental impacts.
NextGen, which uses satellites for navigation for more precise take-offs and landings, will require new routing and procedures around Denver-area airports, the Federal Aviation Administration says.
The agency is proposing new routes for Denver International Airport, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield and Centennial Airport in Arapahoe County in a 30-mile radius around all three.
The first hearing is Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Rocky Mountain Airport in the Mount Evans Conference Room, 11755 Airport Way.
The second hearing is Wednesday at the Denver Marriott South at Park Meadows, 10345 Park Meadows Drive. The third is scheduled Thursday at the Crown Plaza International Airport, 15500 E. 40th Ave. in Denver.
The current ground-based air traffic control system can no longer support huge increases in flights and causes delays , say FAA officials.
Federal aviation and airline industry officials say NextGen will cut flight delays, reduce carbon emissions, allow more airplanes to fly and save on fuel consumption.
“We can be more fuel efficient and more predictable,” said Aaron Barnett, the FAA’s Denver area district manager for air-traffic control.
The $42 billion system is expected to be put in place over the next 20 years and help airports like DIA deal with huge hikes in air traffic.
Barnett pointed out that when DIA opened in 1995, it recorded 585,000 operations – take offs and landings. Last year, the airport reported 985,000 operations.
One components of the NextGen technology is RNP or Required Navigation Performance, which is an on-board system that allows pilots to navigate aircraft to any point in the world using only geographical coordinates, according to the FAA.
This helps pilots land in weather conditions that would ordinarily force them to touchdown elsewhere.
Barnett said DIA, the 11th-busiest airport in the world, is also one of the world’s most reliable. And NextGen will make DIA even more dependable.
“This will help us predict our flow even more precisely,” Barnett said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to incorrect information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, the amount of passenger traffic at DIA was incorrectly stated. DIA is the 11th busiest airport in the world and the fifth busiest in the U.S.
