May 2001 - Nr. 5
Germany Expands Air Traffic Capacity
TWIG - Even if they weren’t aware of it, passengers at German airports should have been glad for delays this week. The final preparations for the introduction of a new satellite-assisted air traffic control system added temporarily to the jam in the skies above Germany, but aviation officials say more efficient - and punctual - air travel is on the way. To cope with a rapidly growing number of flights within German airspace, Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), Germany’s air traffic control agency, has created a new network of high altitude flight corridors. The new corridors will considerably expand air traffic capacity over Germany and allow for more frequent take-offs and landings. DFS calls the project the most important overhaul of the country’s air traffic control system ever undertaken and notes that it comes none too soon. The number of flights in German air space grew by 5.1 percent last year - to a total of 2.56 million - and is expected to double by 2020.
