PASS WARNS AIR TRAVELERS OF POTENTIAL DELAYS
- Details
- Published: July 18, 2013
Union Calls on Agency for Better Software Testing and Coordination
WASHINGTON, DC - The Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) today warned flyers of the possibility for more delays like those experienced Tuesday morning at George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport as the FAA continues to install inadequately tested software upgrades to a major piece of air traffic control equipment.
Over 200 delays were reported yesterday after a software upgrade to the Host Computer System was installed at the Houston ARTCC. Similar delays were also reported in April when the same software was installed at the Jacksonville ARTCC.
“The software problems at Houston and Jacksonville could have been avoided with better coordination with local systems specialists by the FAA,” said PASS President Tom Brantley “The FAA must correct these problems and include local specialists in testing the upgrade before they continue to install the software at other En Route Centers.”
Brantley explained that the FAA currently plans to install the same software that caused the delays in Houston and Jacksonville at every En RouteCenter, which direct air traffic between airports. Brantley said that systems specialists in Houston and Jacksonville should have been involved during the software’s development and testing in order to avoid the unforeseen problems that have occurred. He also said that PASS will call upon the FAA to include the specialists in testing all software changes so that incidents like these can be avoided.
“Fortunately there were trained systems specialists who quickly worked to resolve the problems yesterday in Houston,” Brantley said. “But, thousands of air travelers will continue to be inconvenienced by delays if the FAA insists on installing this software without improved coordination with systems specialists.”
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PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.