Southwest Airlines CEO calls on FAA to speed up 'next-gen' navigation

The Federal Aviation Administration needs to accelerate the use of modern, satellite-based air traffic control systems that could make aircraft travel more efficient and safe, and which Southwest Airlines now uses at Denver International Airport, said Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, the No. 2 carrier at DIA.

"Today, the majority of U.S. traffic is managed through 1950s technology, resulting in longer flights, less efficient use
of our air space, increased fuel consumption and delays and congestion," Kelly said in a LinkedIn post Tuesday.

The so-called Next Generation air traffic control systems are already being used by the vast majority of Southwest's Boeing 737 aircraft, Kelly said.

This week, Southwest announced that it was using this technique at DIA. In all, Southwest has helped implement the system at 40 airports nationwide, including some where it doesn’t fly, Dalton said.

“While we have made some progress to implement NextGen in our nation’s ATC system, our government needs to do more –- and do it sooner rather than later,” Kelly said. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to expedite the implementation of NextGen and bring our infrastructure into the 21 century.”