At the FAA’s September International Aviation Safety Forum near Washington, the agency included a discussion session entitled “WAAS or LAAS, which is it?” An explanatory note in the agenda stated that “The FAA is investing in both, but industry experts are divided over the safety issues and benefits. What are the costs and benefits of WAAS? LAAS? Which one should we be investing in?”
FAA ATO COO Russell Chew moderated the session, which included input from senior operations executives from Southwest Airlines, ATA Airlines, FedEx and Boeing, as well as AOPA president Phil Boyer. While LAAS is still in the research and development stage, WAAS is already in routine use as an en route and terminal GPS enhancement. Chew noted that the agency had a continuing commitment to LAAS, but was not prepared to say when the currently sidetracked program might be restarted.
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