Toward the Twenty-First Century - Modernization of the National Airspace System

The National Airspace System Plan delineates specific improvements for facilities and equipments which must be made in order to meet the projected demands of air transportation through the year 2000. The plan focuses on how to best accomplish the following objectives:

• Accommodate spiralling demands for aviation services
• Constrain costs
• Recast the required technical framework
• Deal with aging facilities

The primary purpose of the modernization of the airspace system is to reduce operating costs while enhancing safety. This requires:

• higher levels of automation
• consolidation of major facilities