The Fourth of July is expected to bring another big travel rush to airports across the country, putting a renewed focus on recent air traffic control issues. Kris Van Cleave found out how pilots prepare for major disruptions while flying.

Recent air traffic control outages at several major U.S. airports have underscored the challenges posed by an aging air traffic control system. Pilots are trained to respond to such disruptions through a series of redundant procedures, including switching radio frequencies, using emergency channels, and employing text messaging systems.

In simulator training, pilots practice these scenarios to ensure they can maintain safe operations even without direct communication with controllers. Onboard systems like transponders and collision avoidance technology further enhance safety, allowing pilots to identify and avoid other aircraft. While passengers may experience delays during outages, safety is not compromised due to these established protocols.

How pilots train for disruptions with air traffic control

blacked-out air traffic control screens, communications issues in Newark, Denver, and Jacksonville all since April. Signs of an aging air traffic control system. Currently we are stopped on departures. Approach control lost their radar again. I don't want those to happen. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The pilots, when that happens, they know that they have to look to another center or TRACON or tower to communicate with, and they all start to pay close attention and stay away from each other. Ahead of the next big summer travel push, we wanted to see that in action. We operate on a system of multiple layers of redundant systems. Captain Miles Morgan oversees United Airlines Flight Training Center in Denver. Was losing air traffic control on the list of things you practice? This is not the first time this has happened. One of the first things you learn as a pilot when you're getting your instrument rating in a small airplane is what to do if you lose communication with the air traffic control facility. All right, ready to go? Yeah. Inside a 737 MAX simulator, we are at the controls for a first-hand look, taking off from a simulated Newark Liberty Airport. 100 knots. Once airborne, we're dialed into air traffic control on an assigned radio frequency. Air traffic control goes out right now. You're over New York City. What happens? So the first thing is, I'm on this primary frequency. I would immediately go to the frequency that I was last on, which is now in my standby. Another radio is set to an emergency channel that all ATC centers and other aircraft can hear. If that doesn't work... The third layer of redundancy we have is this text messaging system. While flying, the 737's transponder sends a signal identifying the plane to controllers and other aircraft. Pilots can change that number to 7600, the code for comms trouble. Hey, this aircraft has lost communication, so they'll start separating aircraft around from us. All airliners also have an onboard collision avoidance system known as TCAS that's scanning the skies for other planes. Traffic. Traffic. So now I'm going to stop everything that I'm doing. I'm going to look at my navigation display, and I see that I've got traffic encroaching on me 600 feet above. What happens if you're not a safe distance away? So my aircraft would give me a command. If my aircraft was told to descend, that aircraft would be told to climb, and that would increase the separation. If there's one of these ATC outages and I'm in the air, I'm a passenger, am I less safe because of that? Absolutely not less safe. You might be inconvenienced because we're going to immediately have delays.

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