Planes Will Soon Fly Stacked More Closely
By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY

Starting next Thursday, airliners and other planes flying high over the Americas will pass much closer to one another than is now allowed — as close as 1,000 feet above or below.

With the change, which is being made mainly to save airlines billions in fuel costs, U.S. safety officials offer passengers some advice: Relax. The 1,000-foot standard has been in place elsewhere in the world for years without incident. In addition, safety equipment aboard planes has been upgraded.

"For the flying public, this change will be largely invisible," says Federal Aviation Administration spokesman William Shumann.

Nonetheless, the notion of planes routinely passing within half the vertical distance that air traffic controllers now allow rattles some high-mileage travelers and an air safety advocate.

John Foor, an engineer from Houston who flew about 125 times last year, says it increases the risk of a midair collision. "It cuts into the safety margin, regardless of the history of no incidents."

Though the FAA says the change probably won't be noticeable, air traffic controller Steve Entis says passengers looking out the windows of a jet flying at cruise altitude might see more planes than in the past, or at least see them closer.

"Don't worry," says Entis, a member of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union who is working with the FAA on its plan. "You are safe, and the planes are separated properly."

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