DFW International Airport and Local City Leaders Announce Support For FAA "NextGen" Technology

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, along with its owner cities and host cities declared today as NextGen Day in North Texas, issuing their strong support for NextGen, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation air transportation system. The cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, Coppell, Euless, Grapevine and Irving each issued proclamations in support of NextGen, as did the DFW Airport Board of Directors.

NextGen is an umbrella term for the ongoing transformation of the National Airspace System to enable more efficient use of airspace and airports.

“DFW Airport is an active and involved supporter of NextGen technologies, and has been supportive for many years,” said Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW International Airport. “We are pleased to have served as a partner and test site for many NextGen component systems that enhance safety and efficiency for air traffic, because it is critical to our future in Dallas/Fort Worth and to our nation’s future.”

DFW Airport is an industry leader as an active design and implementation site for NextGen, working closely with the FAA and NASA on a number of projects that comprise the NextGen system. DFW has served as the development site for the ground radar system known as ASDE-X, the flight path optimization system known as Area Navigation or R-NAV, and other systems that are part of NextGen.

“Our Mayors and our city partners understand how important air transportation is to our community’s growth, and why NextGen is vital,” said Jim Crites, executive vice president for operations at DFW. “With this public awareness campaign, we want to bring the message about NextGen to every home in our region.”

The implementation of NextGen should result in greater efficiencies in air traffic management, which will allow airlines schedule more flights, realize fuel savings and emissions reductions through the optimization of DFW’s airfield and the surrounding airspace. 

In an effort to educate Airport passengers and the community, DFW Airport will create a terminal display kiosk highlighting the coming advancements and technologies that will be part of NextGen. The interactive display will be placed in Terminal D this fall. DFW is also leading an information campaign with local chambers and civic organizations.