At the tail end of the darkest year

Luckily, the failure of Ferihegy tower did not last long. But it was nevertheless long enough to cause misery to thousands of travelers. A few of them tried to find alternative means of transport, like taking a bus to Vienna and trying to secure a seat on planes there. Others, resigned to their fate, just… Continue reading At the tail end of the darkest year

TITAN Final Workshop

Those of you who have followed the evolution of the TITAN project on the pages of Roger-Wilco will be familiar with the aims and development methodology of this trend-setting EC 7th framework project. Building on the achievements of Airport Collaborative Decision Making systems (A-CDM), TITAN had set out to show how aircraft turnaround can be… Continue reading TITAN Final Workshop

Transition

Following our late-autumn holiday, returning to our dearly loved capital city’s even more beloved airport, we once again struck the strings in the thick of life. There was no time to get bored, in part because of the frequent foggy weather but even more, since air traffic control’s history had entered a new phase. Apparently… Continue reading Transition

Shame on you Airbus

I have never particularly liked Airbus. For decades, a political football parading as a real company, they were always just a tad too aggressive and self-important for my liking. Some of our airline colleagues related just how different it was to accept new aircraft in Seattle and in Toulouse. The Airbus personnel always acted like… Continue reading Shame on you Airbus

European states ignoring Commission Regulations?

It is only a few days ago that airlines in Europe blasted states and ANSPs for creating empty shells which are then sold as operating Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) and the European Commission sent an equally strong message expressing its displeasure. The next round of fire aims at the UK, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Spain and… Continue reading European states ignoring Commission Regulations?

Air transport growth and the privacy rules… something has to give.

Information is power. Shared information is efficiency. The right information, at the right place and the right time is what air traffic management of the future needs. Whether one reads material on collaborative decision making (CDM), system-wide information management (SWIM) or any number of other papers and articles about ATM, the need for quality information,… Continue reading Air transport growth and the privacy rules… something has to give.

Portland, Oregon Flights to be Cleaner and Greener

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that pilots will start using new NextGen technology and procedures that will enable aircraft to fly more efficient, environmentally-friendly flights into Portland International Airport (PDX) beginning next year. The NextGen (Next Generation Air Transportation System) program uses cutting-edge technology, including new Area Navigation (RNAV) approach… Continue reading Portland, Oregon Flights to be Cleaner and Greener

Tower fails – Ferihegy airport closed UFN – Why was there no contingency tower?

Ferihegy aerodrome controllers have to sit for a recurrent examination every spring. Preparation for the test takes the form of studying a set of questions for which multi-choice answers are provided. One of the questions and the correct answer has suddenly taken on new significance… Here is the question: “In case of an unforeseen catastrophic… Continue reading Tower fails – Ferihegy airport closed UFN – Why was there no contingency tower?