According to Technical Center Team Cited for Contributions to Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum Requirements, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center has been honored for its innovative research that helped the agency reduce the minimum requirements for vertical separation of aircraft.
Federal Aviation Administrator Marion Blakey and other top FAA officials held a nationwide satellite ceremony to honor agency employees who contributed to this stellar effort. In January, the FAA reduced the minimum vertical separation of aircraft from 2,000 to 1,000 feet, on domestic airspace routes flown at altitudes between 29,000 and 41,000 feet, doubling the available air navigation space at high altitudes. Similar practices have been followed across the North Atlantic for years.
More precise navigation and altitude-reporting instruments on aircraft are the keys to implementing and using domestic reduced vertical separation minima (DRVSM).
