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FAA to install runway safety technology at 74 airports by end of 2026
FAA to install enhanced safety tech at 74 airports by 2026, addressing runway incursions amid growing concerns over aviation safety and staffing.
An American Airlines plane takes off from Miami International Airport. / REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
The Federal Aviation Administration said on March 19 it will install enhanced safety technology at 74 airports by the end of 2026 to help detect runway incursions.
The FAA is installing the Runway Incursion Device, a memory aid for air traffic controllers that indicates when a runway is occupied.
The system is operational at four airports and will be installed at another 70 airports over the next 19 months.
Also read: Biggest aviation accidents of 2024
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier on March 19 that he plans to announce in the next few days a plan to overhaul the U.S. air traffic control system to replace aging technologies.
The Jan. 29 fatal Army helicopter and American Airlines regional jet collision that killed 67 people near Reagan Washington National Airport has also rekindled concerns about aviation safety.
Duffy said last week that he plans to ask Congress for tens of billions of dollars to reform air traffic control.
The Government Accountability Office says the FAA must take urgent action to address aging air traffic control systems, saying that one-third are unsustainable.
The FAA said in October that it was opening an audit into runway incursion risks at the 45 busiest U.S. airports.
Over the last two years, a series of troubling near-miss incidents has raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control operations.
The Runway Incursion Device is installed at Austin airport, which was the site of a serious 2023 near-miss incident involving Southwest Airlines and FedEx airplanes after a mistaken assumption by a controller.
A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights and, at many facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks to cover shifts.
The FAA, which has aging technology and facilities and needs billions of dollars to modernize, is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing, prompting the aviation industry and lawmakers to call for action.
The FAA is also installing the Surface Awareness Initiative system and Approach Runway Verification system at airports.
SAI uses Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data to display surface traffic to controllers at airports without a surface surveillance tool. It is operational at 18 airports and the FAA plans to install it at 32 others by the end of 2025.
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