by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 12:41 PM ET, Wed September 29, 2021
The FAA has begun deploying new software that will help reduce the amount of time an airplane spends taxiing on the runway, saving both the passengers' time on the plane and fuel.
According to Travel Weekly, the Advanced Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) software uses prediction along with real-time data about sky traffic and airline departure plans to reduce taxi times and delays. Airplanes in airports where this technology is used can depart their gates later and move directly from the tarmac to the runway without having to taxi.
The software was developed initially by NASA to help with launching spacecraft, but the FAA will gradually begin using the system at 27 of the largest airports in the country within the next decade. Trials were completed at Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth and Dallas Love Field; Phoenix will be the next to receive the software next year.
The software has already proven effective: at Charlotte, it's saved around 275,000 gallons of fuel per year due to a reduction in taxi times. That amount of fuel is the same as 185 flights between New York and Chicago on a Boeing 737. Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by eight tons each day. The software also reduced delays by 916 hours per year.
"This technology cuts delays by all kinds of hours and the aircraft engines run all kinds of fewer hours," said NASA administrator Bill Nelson during a virtual meeting on September 28. "What does that mean? That means less maintenance and fewer engines. This is obviously good for the environment. It's good for our economy. It's good for customers."
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