Setting out NextGen's next steps

In September, after six months of deliberation, more than 300 expert members of the US Next Generation Air Transportation System Mid-Term Implementation Task Force (TF) presented their recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on handling the 2009-18 intermediate transition phase to NextGen, prior to its eventual full operation around 2015.

To be performed under the aegis of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), the TF project was initiated by the FAA in January 2009, following earlier consultations with various elements of the US aviation community about the optimum mid-term transition process. From these it was clear that the transition could not be an overnight throw of a switch, nor could it simply be a series of equipment mandates, given the industry's delicate financial shape and – for many – an uncertain future.

The TF was therefore requested by the FAA "to forge community-wide consensus on the recommended NextGen operational improvements to be implemented during the transition between now and 2018". The TF should also focus on "maximising NextGen benefits and facilitating the development of the business case for industry investment".