Hurry up and wait

Keeping pace with aviation’s growth

It gets one thinking; images of windowless airliners on the same page as supersonic corporate jets of the future. Flight times will be slashed as aircraft skip off the atmosphere and cross the planet in a few hours – what a world it will be. Where will it end? To some it may well seem like fantasy, but given aviation’s track record over the past century, one would be rather brave to bet against its future advances. Since the industrial revolution, technology has gathered an everincreasing pace of momentum and that drive has changed our world. There is no denying aviation’s exceptional journey – from box-kites to lunar landings in the span of a human life.

Today the issue would seem to lie in other aspects of air transport keeping pace. Airways systems across the globe are becoming increasingly congested and once landed, taxiways and apron space are at a premium. Airports have become funnels of humanity, pouring waves of people into their destination. However, while the cone seems to be growing to catch a greater travelling public, the narrow stem at the bottom seems to be struggling to cope.