The effect of airspace loading by controlled air traffic on the air traffic control system

The purpose of this paper is to examine briefly the amount of traffic which air controllers can manage with varying levels of automation. It is shown that automated aids to the controller expand his capacity to handle traffic by a factor of 2-3. The use of area navigation and rerouting can increase his traffic handling capacity by another factor of 2-3. Application of both techniques will be necessary eventually to control the traffic forecasted for the 1990's. The contents of this paper are based in part upon a study performed for the DOTATC Advisory Committee entitled "New York airspace loading and configuration" [1].