The Future of Air Travel Has Arrived in Denver

When Mike McKee of Denver International Airport discusses NextGen, the new Federal Aviation Administration system that represents the future of U.S. air travel, the word that keeps coming up is predictability. "They've built this network of procedures now that's much more predictable, to use the FAA's term," he says. "A lot of the things that used to be more up to the controller's discretion are built-in and hard-coded."

Denver International has been among the leaders in implementing NextGen. In the past year, the airport has adopted 51 satellite-based procedures that make flights smoother, reduce airspace and runway congestion, cut down on aircraft fuel emissions, and improve communication with other area control towers. The progress made in Denver — the fifth busiest U.S. airport — shows the larger promise of the NextGen system.