A radically revised en-route ATC interface

The existing en-route ATC system is close to saturation. Conventional methods of capacity enhancement are no longer sufficient. The paper shows that a revised system can be devised, based on systematic re-design. This redesign implies a redistribution of ATC tasks to provide a suitable human task, supported and supplemented by computer-based systems. A human-computer interface can be designed on classical ergonomic principles to aid in the performance of these tasks. The revised system is easy to learn and has a greatly increased capacity, as has been demonstrated empirically. The revised system involves substantial changes in the working practices of controllers, but does not, in the long run, detract from their skills