Under new FAA procedures that take effect this week, air traffic controllers must provide specific taxi routes to pilots, instead of simply clearing operators to proceed to the runway through a series of taxi instructions. Controllers must tell pilots and airport vehicle operators the specific route an aircraft or vehicle should follow across the airfield, instead of simply giving them an intended destination point, according to RAN's sister publication Air Safety Week. The new mandatory detailed instructions require controllers to name the specific taxiways the aircraft or vehicle should use at each step along its route. FAA safety officials developed the new procedure to help eliminate pilot or driver confusion about which route to follow on the airport surface. The more detailed instructions are designed to reduce runway incursions caused by controller, pilot or vehicle driver mistakes. The change was prompted by repeated calls by the National Transportation Safety Board to adopt such procedures in an effort to stem runway safety problems. The procedures were developed after risk-management experts, user groups and the FAA studied whether the increased controller-pilot communications constituted an increased safety hazard with either increased risk of communication errors or increased communication times between controllers and pilots. The groups concluded there was no increased risk to safety. The groups are now reviewing recommendations for changes in takeoff and landing clearance procedures.