new generation of small jets is threatening to clog congested airline routes and is raising safety concerns, according to air-traffic controllers and airline pilots.
By Alan Levin, USA TODAY
So-called very light jets (VLJs) began commercial service in the Southeast last year. Companies using them say they will revolutionize air travel by making it more practical and affordable.
However, the jets have created problems for controllers. The new planes are so much slower than larger airline jets that controllers must keep them out of the normal highways in the skies whenever traffic is heavy, said Steven Wallace, the local president of the National Air Traffic Controllers’ Association at Miami Center…
