Local

LAX tests digital tools as air-traffic-control overhaul begins

A high-tech simulator has cut controller training time by 30%, while the airport is among the first to replace paper flight strips with digital tracking.

Image credit: National Transportation Safety Board / Wikimedia Commons, public domain; archival October 2011 photograph inside the LAX air-traffic-control tower, not the September 2026 modernization work

Los Angeles International Airport is helping lead a multiyear modernization of the nation’s air-traffic-control system, ABC7 Los Angeles reported September 28. The effort combines new communications equipment, digital flight tracking and changes to controller hiring and training.

What it means locally

At LAX, a high-tech simulator has reduced controller training time by 30% by letting trainees practice while also working in the airport’s tower. The tower is also among the first to replace paper flight strips with digital displays, allowing controllers to transfer flight information electronically and spend more time watching traffic. The broader federal plan calls for replacing telecommunications equipment with fiber or satellite connections and installing new radios at more than 4,500 sites. The accompanying photograph was taken inside the LAX control tower during a 2011 National Transportation Safety Board visit and is not an image of the current modernization work.

Full report and further details: Read original report →