Behind the Scenes of NextGen: Describing the Impact of NextGen Operational Improvements on the Traffic Manager

Abstract

In an effort to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has introduced the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The introduction of new capabilities and operational improvements (OI) offers the potential for changes to the roles and responsibilities of the traffic management unit (TMU). Each change presents the opportunity to positively or adversely impact the overall safety of the NAS. This paper applies a proactive approach to identifying potential human performance hazards associated with NextGen TMU operations. The TMU performance hazards identified were primarily related to the potential for selecting inadequate airspace and airport configurations. The potential effects of these hazards will directly affect the NextGen controller and thus represent rich opportunities for researchers to mitigate potential issues in the early stages of system design.

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