The scheduled international air transport industry is now more than 100 times larger than it was in 1945. International air transport grew at double-digit rates from its earliest post-1945 days until the first oil crisis in 1973. Much of the impetus for this growth came from technical innovation through the introduction of turbo-propeller aircraft in the early 1950s, transatlantic jets in the late 1950s, and later wide-bodied jets and advanced avionics. This industry will continue to grow and there will be more flights since the industry will meet the passenger growth with single aisle aircraft rather than double aisle aircraft. The demand for weather information to be provided to this international aviation community is also expected to increase. The Aviation Weather Center (AWC) has an international responsibility to the aviation community to provide both tactical and strategic products. To ensure safe flights and a similar level of service world wide, standardized meteorological services are provided by all countries where foreign carriers operate. On October 1, 1998, the Aviation Weather Center (AWC) will begin providing the flight documentation services centrally from Kansas City. The methodology and a description of the services to be provided will be presented. A brief look will be made to the future to assess additional methods for enhancing and changing this service.
The 8th Conference on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology