Advisory Systems Save Time and Fuel for Airlines

In the 1990s, Heinz Erzberger led a team at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California to develop a suite of automated tools to reduce restrictions and improve the efficiency of air traffic control operations. Called Center-TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) Automation System (CTAS), the suite included a traffic management advisor that was adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Another one of the tools, Direct-To, has followed a different path.