Snags set back air traffic control system update

Snags set back air traffic control system update

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a decade of work and billions of dollars spent, the modernization of the U.S. air traffic control system is in trouble. The ambitious and complex technology program dubbed NextGen has encountered unforeseen difficulties at almost every turn. The program was promoted as a way to accommodate an anticipated surge in air travel, reduce fuel consumption and improve safety and efficiency. By shifting from radar-based navigation and radio communications – technologies rooted in the first half of the 20th century – to satellite-based navigation and digital communications, it would handle three times as many planes by 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration promised.