Speech

ASDE-X Commissioning Detroit Metro Wayne

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone.

I’m pleased to be here in Detroit, and I’d like to thank the Congressman and Lester Robinson for their work in making this day possible.

Today, I’m proud to announce that the FAA has chosen Detroit Metro as one of the key locations to help advance modern runway safety technology. The advances that are taking place here will serve as the building blocks for the next level of aviation safety.

The landscape of aviation is changing right before our very eyes. High fuel prices, capacity cuts and layoffs are but the latest chapter in an ever-changing story, but as you look at it in the long term, it’s a story of transition.

No one knows yet how all these changes are going to play out, but I think one thing is clear.

While five of the top 15 airports are reporting declining passenger numbers, Detroit just reported a 3 percent increase for the first five months of the year.

While other airports are fretting about the next carrier to announce service cutbacks, the Detroit Metropolitan area is retaining air service schedules.

With these increases, I’m pleased to announce that Detroit Metro has become the 13^th and latest airport in the nation to deploy the ground-breaking runway safety system called ASDE-X.

It helps ensure the highest possible levels of safety by using sensors around the airfield to detect plane and vehicle movements on the runways.

It was developed with a major goal in mind — to reduce the most serious kinds of runway incursions. This is an issue that I take very seriously. This is one that really does keep me up at night. About a year ago, I issued a challenge — a call to action — to the entire aviation industry — the controllers, the pilots, the airlines — to join with the FAA and let’s stop runway incursions.

So far it’s paying off. Serious runway mishaps are at an all-time low. But as Detroit knows, now is not the time to take our foot off the accelerator. We can’t be satisfied or complacent.

The county was eager to work with us to get ASDE-X up and running.

It was brought in at the end of June, and while safety was our primary goal, the system provides great efficiency benefits as well. It saves time. It saves fuel. And it saves money.

That’s music to everyone’s ears.

With this technology firmly in place, I’m pleased to announce another reason ASDE-X is so important here in Detroit. This is the first airport where the FAA will leverage ASDE-X to operate a new system to land aircraft more quickly and safely.

It’s called PRM-A, Precision Runway Monitor-Alternate.

Using some of the sophisticated features of ASDE-X, it gives controllers an eye in the sky to see the precise location of airplanes out as far as 10 miles, thereby allowing pilots to bring them in side by side on parallel runways at the same time. Once again, it’s safe, it saves money, and it works.

Here’s another critical tool that’s coming this way — runway status lights. They’re like traffic signals that tell a pilot when the runways are occupied and when they’re clear.

The advances that are being made here reflect the modernization efforts happening across the country. We are harnessing technology and converting it into more usable capacity and greater safety.

Initiatives such as ASDE-X and PRM-A are parts of our Next Generation Air Transportation System — a comprehensive strategy to reduce delays, improve airport management and maximize safety and efficiency.

JFK and Phoenix are next on this year’s list for ASDE-X. By 2009, it’ll be at seven more airports, including Logan, Newark, and LAX. By 2011, all of the 35 major airports will have it.

We brought the system here now because Detroit depends on more than just the auto industry. You rely on aviation too. And if planes don’t move because of bad weather or congestion, the economy doesn’t move, and that’s unacceptable.

That’s why the FAA is committed to strengthening and improving capacity and safety. Detroit has to be a part of that endeavor.

The investments in cutting-edge aviation technology are setting the stage for a stronger, safer system that keeps our nation and this city at the forefront of aviation.

I want to thank Congressman Knollenberg for his support of our capital programs. I also want to acknowledge our managers, the controllers, technicians and engineers, for implementing these cutting-edge technologies and helping us improve safety and capacity. Thank you.