Smartphone users are now a click away from easier access to the most popular searches on the FAA website.
The agency launched a mobile version of the site Jan. 10, optimized for mobile users seeking N-number lookup, airport status and delays, and advisory circulars, along with wildlife strike reports, flight standards district office location searches, and news releases.
FAA Mobile is not an application, but a set of Web pages optimized for mobile devices. FAA officials said mobile traffic to the website has grown from 1.5 million to 4 million visitors over the last two fiscal years, and FAA Mobile was created to enable easier access to the most popular functions of the main website. The agency also posted details about the new site, including lists of features and supported devices.
FAA Web Program Manager Nicolas Dinatale said the N-number search is the most popular function on the agency’s main website, and the mobile version will be refined based on feedback that began to arrive soon after the new site launched Jan. 10. Dinatale said the FAA decided against creating mobile applications that must be maintained and updated for individual devices—a much more costly proposition.
“As stewards of the American taxpayer dollar, we really want to leverage this information the best way we can,” Dinatale said.
FAA Mobile is designed to support Apple iOS 4 and higher, as well as Android 2.2 and higher operating systems. Each page on the mobile version has a link to the full-scale website. The full-scale website includes a link in the footer to the mobile version; mobile users will not automatically be redirected to the mobile site.
Jim Moore
Related Articles
