FAA Presents Southern Region Air Traffic Facility of the Year Award and Demonstrates New Air Traffic Control System

WASHINGTON - The media will have an opportunity to see
first-hand the benefits of a new air traffic control system at the
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) on
Wednesday, August 8. Also that day, the Southern Regions'Air
Traffic Facility of the Year award will be presented to officials.

Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) Van
Tour
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has started a national
tour of the STARS mobile van. A media tour of the van is
scheduled for 11 a.m. The van will be parked near the air traffic
control tower. STARS, which consists of computers and displays,
is a key component of modernizing the national airspace system.
Air traffic controllers use STARS to direct traffic in and out of
congested airports.

A 28-foot long mobile van is being used to introduce STARS to the
nation. The van is the first of its kind in the U.S. for
demonstrating air traffic equipment. The van is equipped with a
STARS standalone console and two displays. The joint FAA and
Department of Defense program will replace air traffic control
computers and displays at more than 300 facilities nationwide.

Air Traffic Facility of the Year Award
The CVG air traffic facility is being recognized the Southern
Region's Air Traffic Facility of the Year. CVG will be awarded for
having the highest degree of efficiency and dedication of facility
employees for their daily responsibilities of expeditious air traffic
movement, preservation of life and property and public service.
An awards ceremony will be held outside of the tower at 12 noon,
following the STARS van tour.

CVG is one of the fasted growing airports in the U.S. It's already
the third busiest in the southern region with more than 21,million
passenger enplanements in 2000.