Today, arriving airport traffic is managed and sequenced in the airspace close to the airport. Faced with increasing traffic, airports are looking for ways to overcome congestion and reduce the need for holding. The SESAR Solution, extended arrival management (E-AMAN), allows for the sequencing of arrival traffic much earlier than is currently the case, by extending the AMAN horizon from the airspace around the airport to further upstream. Controllers in the upstream sectors, which may be in a different control centre or even a different functional airspace block (FAB), obtain system advisories to support an earlier pre-sequencing of aircraft. Controllers implement those advisories by instructing pilots to adjust the aircraft speed along the descent or even before top-of-descent (TOD), thereby reducing the need for holding and reducing fuel consumption.

Validation results

Exercises in Reims validated the application of the E-AMAN horizon on operations for cross-border arrival management with the UK in real operational conditions characterised by high traffic density. The solution demonstrated the following benefits:

• Manageable controller workload, particularly in the en-route sectors serving the E-AMAN horizon;

• A reduction of up to a minute spent in holding stacks, with each minute representing up to 60 kilograms in fuel savings. This amounts to an average 8 % reduction in fuel consumption per flight, as well as a reduction of nearly 90 % of airborne waiting time;

• When extended to an annual fuel burn, the stack hold fuel burn benefit would amount to approximately 2.63 Kt in fuel savings (EUR 1.25 million in fuel saved) and 5 000 tonnes in CO2 emissions;

• Reduced noise beneath the stacks.

Status

The validation results for this solution are conclusive and sufficient to support a decision for industrialisation. This solution is planned for synchronised deployment at 24 European airports in accordance with the PCP."