Automation and Air Traffic Control

It is of course a truism to note the profound effect that transportation has had on modern society, which is quite simply unimaginable without communications by land, sea and air. The role played by navigational science and its application has of course been somewhat different in each medium. Navigation by air, though, has a special distinguishing feature in that the aviator frequently shares responsibility for the safe and efficient conduct of his flight with another agency, the air traffic control system.For the foreseeable future, air traffic control will have a major part to play in the navigation and safety of travel by air and so, by implication, future developments in air traffic control will have an influence on society at large.Turning now from the general to the particular, the author would like to give an example, which may be symptomatic and serve to illustrate the magnitude of the problems that the air transport industry, including air traffic control, may face in the future.