Omer Majeed attended the NextGen Ahead Conference in Washington D.C. from May 19 – 21, 2010. The event, organized by Aviation Week, was a status report of what has been accomplished to date and what is planned in regards to the FAA’s ATM modernization effort. Various Communication, Navigation & Surveillance (CNS) technologies and procedures from Net-Centric Ops to PBN to ADS-B are in the process of being implemented. There are no technical show stoppers, however a number of risks to the program were highlighted. The most significant risks were uncertainty regarding future FAA funding, operators’ willingness to equip for a more aircraft-centric environment and the possibility that excessively compressed scheduling at major airports will obviate the efficiency gains generated by NextGen when the American economy eventually rebounds. Developments south of the 49th parallel will certainly influence ATM in Canada and international CNS harmonization efforts.
