A new operational procedure has been successfully validated, which will help better manage the flow of incoming flights during peak hours at congested airports in Europe. The procedure was developed by *FAIR STREAM, a consortium led by DSNA, the French ANSP, in cooperation with DFS, skyguide, Air France, SWISS, Lufthansa, Airbus Prosky and associated partners: Hop!, Delta, Boeing, Eurocontrol. The consortium is co-funded by the SESAR Joint Undertaking, the body that oversees the SESAR Research and Innovation Programme which aims to modernise Europe’s air traffic management (ATM) system.

FAIR STREAM introduces a new time-based operational procedure, known as “Target Time of Arrival (TTA)” in situations where the arrival sector is saturated and needs to be regulated. TTA is not a constraint passed to the aircraft, but rather a progressively refined planning element that is used to coordinate arrivals. In FAIR STREAM, TTA information was shared by all involved actors - including Network Manager, flight management position in ACCs, air traffic controllers, airlines operation centers and air crew - allowing improved planning based on common information. Use of TTA allows arrival planning, currently undertaken only at the destination airport, to be performed earlier in the flight’s progress, including before departure, where upstream actors amend their plans to support the requirements of the destination airport. In this way, FAIR STREAM paves the way for better predictability of flights leading to smoother flight management and less arrival holding, while also preserving a high level of safety. No significant workload increase due to the use of TTA was reported by ATCOs and flight crews.

Maurice GEORGES, DSNA CEO, commented: “I am pleased with this collaboration. Initial live trials results are promising. Almost 1,000 commercial flights arriving at Paris-CDG, Zurich and Munich airports have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of this concept with the existing on-board and ground equipment.”

Florian GUILLERMET, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, added: "The SESAR Research and Innovation (R&I) Programme is delivering both technical and operational solutions to modernise the future European ATM system. FAIR STREAM is a good example of how stakeholders can come together to figure out more effective ways to handle saturated airspace and increase efficiency ".

The consortium’s final report and results were recently validated by the SJU.