Safety: In The Air
Tens of thousands of aircraft are guided safely and expeditiously every day through our National Airspace System.
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National Airspace SystemThe United States has the world’s busiest and most complex airspace system. Every day, we provide air traffic service to more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers traveling across more than 29 million square miles of airspace. The National Airspace System includes hundreds of air traffic control facilities staffed by a highly trained, highly skilled workforce and thousands of air routes that safely carry passengers from their departure points to their destinations. Most of the highways in our sky are satellite-based routes that keep planes on precise paths and automatically separate from aircraft on adjacent paths. Nevertheless, the FAA requires very conservative safety bubbles around each plane – typically five miles at cruising altitude and three miles in the airspace around airports. Airliners additionally have Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems that project conflicts ahead of time and instruct pilots to take specific actions. The FAA also has procedures to safely navigate airliners around bad weather. Skilled FAA technicians maintain a backbone of tens of thousands of critical pieces of equipment which supports this system throughout the country. |
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Cabin SafetyFederal regulations ensure everything in your cabin – from the air you breathe to how your seat is anchored – is as safe as possible. The FAA has strict cabin air standards which studies have shown is as good as or better than the air found in offices and homes. FAA regulations mandate flammability requirements for cabin interiors, require airplane seats to withstand 16Gs of force and specify firm evacuation standards. Your flight cannot take off without a complete, sealed Emergency Medical Kit, and we require specific medical training for flight attendants. We work with airlines to prevent turbulence injuries, and we work to educate passengers about what you can and cannot bring on an aircraft. |
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Evaluating Tall StructuresDo you ever wonder why tall buildings dot the landscape around your plane’s path into or out of an airport? It’s a safe bet we evaluated those structures and determined they don’t pose any danger to flights. Under federal law, developers must give the FAA the opportunity to evaluate proposed structures near airports to determine whether they could pose a hazard to aircraft or interfere with navigation aids. We conduct a thorough review of every proposed structure and work with developers to address any issues. Our minimum safe altitude regulations require airplanes to fly at least 1,000 feet above the nearest obstacle except when they’re landing or taking off. |
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Curbing Unruly BehaviorThe overwhelming majority of airline passengers are courteous and follow the rules. For the few who are not, dangerous behavior doesn’t fly. FAA regulations and federal law prohibit interfering with an airline crew member, and the FAA has a zero-tolerance policy toward unruly passengers. We can propose fines of up to $37,000 per violation. We also refer egregious cases to the FBI for criminal prosecution review and to the TSA to potentially revoke a passenger’s PreCheck eligibility. While the rate of unruly passenger incidents dropped by over 80 percent since record highs in early 2021, ongoing incidents show there is more work to do. This video from FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker is part of our extensive outreach to educate passengers about the consequences of bad behavior. |