FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt today sought to reassure doubters that the agency is genuinely committed to working quickly to absorb the findings of an RTCA industry/government task force on ATC modernization and use them to shape NextGen priorities.

There is a lot of "energy" being spent in harmonization and "FAA is adjusting our plans accordingly," Babbitt said during an International Aviation Club luncheon in Washington. "Interest is very keen" in ATC modernization and NextGen "at the highest levels of our government."

He endorsed the findings of the task force nearly a month ago, calling them "an excellent headstart on the acceleration" of the modernization program (DAILY, Oct. 6). The task force report, made public in September, was aimed at mid-term initiatives that could be completed by 2018 using technology already in hand.

But NextGen has produced dozens of roadmaps and implementation plans in the past, and as recently as last week, House aviation subcommittee members felt compelled to call on FAA to follow through on the task force recommendations (DAILY, Oct. 29).

"We have no plans to go it alone," Babbitt said, insisting that full transparency and cooperation with all international partners is vital to moving the efforts forward.

"Without our partners, we can't get there," he said, noting that ATC modernization "can't be an international competition." He cited the need for common processes, sharing data and best practices, consistency in rules, and "working together to determine the need for new rules," as ways to ensure "a seamless weave" of both NextGen and the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) technologies.

Photo credit: FAA