Less waiting and fewer delays
To avoid traffic overload, flights are typically held on the ground rather than added to congested flight paths. These precautionary measures can be imposed hours in advance and are based on flight plans. Short-term air traffic flow capacity management (ATFCM) measures (STAMs) have more flexibility to handle traffic
overload since control measures are applied at a later stage and align more closely with actual demand. They also allow additional measures, such as temporarily constraining a flight or group of flights at a lower altitude, or imposing minimum re-routings, to prevent sector overload.
SESAR has developed advanced STAMs through sharing information between the Network Manager and area control centres which only impose a wider range of measures as and when necessary.
Through close cooperation between different actors, it is possible to target individual flights with a STAM measure, such as a minor ground delay, flight level cap, or minor re-routing, to take into account local preferred solutions, rather than apply a regulation to a group of flights as a whole.
Advanced STAMs include a set of automated support tools at the network level which detect hotspots and
disseminate the information to flow management positions in the area control centres. The toolset also
includes ‘what-if’ functionalities to evaluate what the effect of STAMs will be before effectively applying
them. The information takes account of an expanded information set including weather, airport operations, runway occupancy and traffic complexity. The data is shared electronically with the possibility to use business-tobusiness (B2B) system-wide information management (SWIM) in the future.
SESAR’s automated STAM tools allow a shared situational awareness of the STAMs applied across the network for flow management staff, and makes all STAM-related data available for detailed post-operational analysis.
This solution is available for industrialisation and is part of synchronised deployment plans across Europe. It has already been implemented in Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the UK.
SJU references #17/Release 5
Benefits
- Better use of airspace capacity in terminal and enroute
airspace - Increased cost efficiency
- Improved situational awareness of the European network
Datapack