Dallas Love Field Among A Handful Of US Airports To Acquire New Airfield Surveillance

Dallas Love Field (DAL) will be one of the first airports in the US to implement a new runway safety technology designed to reduce the number of close calls. The development was announced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this week.

It comes amid the aftermath of Thursday’s near-miss incident involving Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways aircraft. DAL will be joined by Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) in Texas, while airports in Indiana and Tennessee will also receive the new technology.

Reducing the risk

Referred to as Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) systems, the FAA said on Monday that the technology will improve the situational awareness of air traffic controllers (ATC), effectively leading to a reduction in “the risk of runway incursions.” The agency’s administrator, Mike Whitaker, explained that the systems will be “cost-effective” and increase runway safety.

“This cost-effective technology provides controllers with timely and accurate depictions of aircraft and vehicles on the entire airfield in all weather conditions.”

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The agency’s announcement came just days before ATC ordered a Southwest Boeing 737 MAX 8 to “STOP! STOP!” as it was about to taxi across an active runway that a JetBlue Embraer E190 was departing from on Thursday morning at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Simple Flying previously reported that the two aircraft came dangerously close to each other – about 300 feet – but escaped from the situation without colliding.

“We’re committed to doing everything possible to make our runways even safer,” Whitaker explained.

How it works

Along with DAL and AUS, the technology will be rolled out at Indianapolis International Airport (IND) and Nashville International Airport (BNA). SAI will use data from Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) to display airfield traffic to ATC at airports without a surface surveillance tool. According to the FAA, aircraft and ADS-B-equipped vehicles will appear as icons on airport maps that illustrate runways, taxiways, holding points, and other areas.

“The Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) will deliver capabilities to improve controller situational awareness and reduce runway incursions. The challenge with surface awareness is ensuring the controllers have vision of all the activity on that surface.”

SAI is reportedly one of three tools the FAA is working on to implement at US airports. It is part of the agency’s “fast-tracked” surface safety portfolio, which highlights its call to action on the structure, culture, process, and integration of safety efforts in the US aerospace system. Its other initiatives include Approach Runway Verification (ARV) and the Runway Incursion Device (RID).

Addressing safety concerns

While the FAA investigates its latest near-miss incident, concerns have been raised regarding the number of flights at DCA, which handles all commercial flights from primarily one runway. Last year, the US Department of Transportation recorded over 17,000 runway incursions nationwide. More than half of the incidents resulted from pilot deviations, while 20% were caused by ATC action or inaction.

SAI is expected to be implemented in July at the first four airports. Several others are expected to receive the technology next year.

“Currently there are airports where tower controllers do not have visibility of all areas of the airport surface,” the FAA said. “By deploying the SAI capability to the tower cab, controllers will have the awareness necessary to proactively address any potential safety concerns.”

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