FAA Adopts New Taxi Instructions

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. The procedures call for controllers to name the taxiways at each step along the aircraft’s route to the runway. 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.