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Airline Passenger Travel to Nearly Double in Two Decades
Airline Passenger Travel to Nearly Double in Two Decades
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its annual forecast today projecting airline passenger travel will nearly double in the next 20 years. The report underscores the need to continue moving forward with implementation of FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) to accommodate the projected growth.
“More and more Americans are relying on air travel, and the Obama Administration is committed to making sure the U.S. can meet our growing aviation demands,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “Our investment in NextGen is the key to getting passengers and cargo to their destinations more safely, faster, and with less impact on the environment.”
The aviation standard for measuring commercial air travel volume is Revenue Passenger Miles (RPM). An RPM represents one paying passenger traveling one mile. Today’s release of the FAA Aerospace Forecast Fiscal Years 2012-2032 projects RPMs will nearly double over the next two decades, from 815 billion in 2011 to 1.57 trillion in 2032, with an average increase of 3.2 percent per year. The number of commercial operations at FAA and contract towers is expected to increase by more than 45 percent from current levels.
FAA Issues Final Rule on Pilot Fatigue
FAA Issues Final Rule on Pilot FatigueSource: Federal Aviation Administration
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Michael Huerta today announced a sweeping final rule that overhauls commercial passenger airline pilot scheduling to ensure pilots have a longer opportunity for rest before they enter the cockpit.
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The Department of Transportation identified the issue of pilot fatigue as a top priority during a 2009 airline Safety Call to Action following the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407. The FAA launched an aggressive effort to take advantage of the latest research on fatigue to create a new pilot flight, duty and rest proposal, which the agency issued on September 10, 2010.
+ Final Rule (PDF)
+ Regulatory Evaluation (PDF)
Outdoor Advertising Control Practices in Australia, Europe, and Japan
Outdoor Advertising Control Practices in Australia, Europe, and Japan (PDF)
Source: Federal Highway Administration
Although the Highway Beautification Act (HBA) has been credited with reducing the number of nonconforming signs and removing illegal signs throughout the country, the law is controversial and costly to administer. Many have questioned whether it has controlled outdoor advertising or met the intent of the U.S. Congress. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research program sponsored a scanning study of Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to learn how they regulate outdoor advertising both inside and outside the roadway right-of-way. The scan team also conducted a desk scan of outdoor advertising practices in Japan.
In its study, the scan team observed the following: (1) context-sensitive and safety-oriented laws and regulations, (2) no regulation of nonconforming signs or distinction between on-premise and off-premise signs, (3) emphasis on safety and environmental impacts in guidelines and permit requirements, and (4) more collaboration between outdoor advertising stakeholders than in the United States. The scan team assembled implementation ideas under the following improvement goals: streamlining the program, improving efficiency, improving transparency, adopting a context-sensitive approach, and enhancing safety.
FAA and NATCA Reach Agreement on Fatigue Recommendations
FAA and NATCA Reach Agreement on Fatigue Recommendations
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) today announced agreement (PDF) on important fatigue recommendations that were developed by a joint FAA-NATCA working group which was established under the 2009 collective bargaining agreement.
“The American public must have confidence that our nation’s air traffic controllers are rested and ready to work,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We have the safest air transportation system in the world but we needed to make changes and we are doing that.”
The agreement reinforces existing FAA policy that prohibits air traffic controllers from sleeping while they are performing assigned duties. The FAA will continue to provide air traffic controllers breaks on the midnight shift based on staffing and workload. While on break, air traffic controllers are expected to conduct themselves professionally and be available for recall at all times.
The FAA and NATCA also agreed that all air traffic controllers must report for work well-rested and mentally alert. It is the employee’s responsibility to notify their supervisor if they are too fatigued to perform their air traffic control duties. As a result of this agreement, air traffic controllers can now request to take leave if they are too fatigued to work air traffic.
This agreement marks the completion of the tasks required by this joint FAA-NATCA fatigue working group. The FAA and NATCA will continue to collaborate to reduce the risk of fatigue in the workplace.
FAA Will Mandate Inspections for Early Models of 737 Aircraft
FAA Will Mandate Inspections for Early Models of 737 Aircraft
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA will issue an emergency directive tomorrow that will require operators of specific early Boeing 737 models to conduct initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage. This action will initially apply to a total of approximately 175 aircraft worldwide, 80 of which are U.S.-registered aircraft. Most of the aircraft in the U.S. are operated by Southwest Airlines.
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The FAA airworthiness directive will require initial inspections using electromagnetic, or eddy-current, technology in specific areas of the aircraft fuselage on certain Boeing 737 aircraft in the -300, -400 and -500 series that have accumulated more than 30,000 flight cycles. It will then require repetitive inspections at regular intervals.
