Press Release

For Immediate Release
28 September 2007

ACTE: Nation’s Air-Traffic Control Needs More Redundant Safety Systems

Alexandria, Va -- Citing a major communications breakdown at a regional air-traffic control center in Memphis earlier this week as yet another cause for alarm regarding aviation infrastructure, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is demanding greater redundancy in systems used to direct aircraft. A major telephone line failure at the Memphis center resulted in numerous delays and clearing the airspace over a central portion of the country for three hours. According to ACTE Executive Director Susan Gurley, the design, maintenance, and installation of updated equipment in control centers is as important as the aircraft themselves.

“Aircraft are built to the highest possible specifications, with redundant systems in place to respond to malfunctions,” said Gurley. “I find it hard to believe, and unsatisfactory, that the functions of this air traffic control center became unhinged with the failure of a single telephone line. There should have been a number of redundant systems available to automatically switch around this problem.”

Gurley added that this problem dramatically exposes the vulnerability of the air-traffic control system, at least in some parts of the country. ACTE’s executive director was swift to praise the swift actions of air-traffic controllers, who used their cell phones to contact other traffic control centers.

“It’s not a question of delays or air travel disruption, which are serious enough,” said Gurley. “But an issue of overall safety. Three years ago, many of our members were disturbed to lean that some air traffic control systems in eastern Europe still used standard phone lines to direct traffic from one control center to the next. I can assure you this was an eye-opener for the industry.”

Gurley stated that while this incident resulted in no loss of life, she noted that no one downplayed its significance. The air-traffic control system in the United States handles thousands of flights a day. Communications systems and radar need to be the best available. ACTE’s director concluded with the statement that terrorism is not the only threat to the international travel profession.

“Typically, this is the kind of improvement that would come out of the Airline Trust Fund, the primary source of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). There is no question that FAA funding is stretched to the limit, and that it is unrealistic to bridge the funding gap for this agency to ticket prices or additional taxes on travelers. But this is question of safety. Airborne commerce is the pulse of the nation’s economy, and this makes a good argument for bridging the FAA funding gap from general tax revenue,” said Gurley.


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