TIS (traffic information service)

Andrew Gideon schrieb:

I've some difficulty understanding this.

From reading here, I've been lead to believe that aviation is more common
in the US than in the EU. Given this, I have to assume that a locality
like the KEWR/KLGA/KJJK area would have a higher aircraft density than
anywhere in Europe.

No?

Frankly, I don't know. No doubt there will be some spam can drivers who
know as little as I do about ATC who will tell you that the specialists
at Eurocontrol have no clue, that everything is better elsewhere and
that Eurocontrol's agenda is to stop all aviation in Europe anyway... an
attitude which is pretty much en vogue right now. I'm somewhat untypical
as I don't share this attitude. I frankly admit that I don't know enough
to judge their claim, so I have to believe it. I don't believe that
Eurocontrol is just a bunch of idiots and sadists.

Nonetheless some thoughts: The primary concern is not the number of
transponder codes. It's the fact that when lots of transponders which
are located near each other (angle wise) respond simultaneously, the
system breaks down. I don't have the exact numbers handy, but there is a
discrimination limit. And there have already been reports of lost
targets. (No, I won't go through the hassle to dig the report out, so
you can choose to believe or not believe in my memory.) There are some
parts in Europe which are surprisingly congested, and the airspace in
those parts tends to be extremely complex. Maybe Europeans just care
more about such lost targets than Americans? And then, they are not
saying that the traffic has already exceeded their capacity. They say it
will reach its limits soon. I think it's a responsible move to try to
proactively solve the problem before the system breaks down.

Stefan