Al Macias/KJZZ

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Air traffic controllers at Sky Harbor have started texting certain instructions to airline pilots instead of using radio transmissions.

Why?

Communication over radio is clunky and it can sometimes take upwards of a minute to relay. It’s also hard to get it right. If there’s a mistake The controller has to re-read the instructions.

That’s starting to change at dozens of major airports, including like Sky Harbor, with the introduction of data communication.

"Data Comm by contrast gives air traffic controllers and pilots the ability to transmit flight plans, clearances, instructions, advisories, and so on and so forth with the touch of a button," said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. He said besides reducing the chance of miscommunication, the big advantage is time.

Gregor said Data Comm can save anywhere between six to 12 minutes per flight. That's good news for pilots like Gregg Kastman, who flies with UPS.

"And on one airplane like mine, I may have 10 or 15,000 packages and if I get delayed 10 minutes, 30 minutes, those 10 or 15,000 packages are connecting to up to 100 airplanes to continue on," said Kastman.

So every minute literally counts for Kastman and your package. 

Gregor said Data Comm is up and running in 45 towers. And he said by the end of the year, that number will be 56.