Some airports in Europe are located very close to one another, which means that they must share the surrounding airspace, or terminal manoeuvring area. However, in today’s air traffic management, airports are considered as separate entities rather than integrated nodes in a wider network. As a result, aircraft cannot always access the most efficient routes in terminal airspace. This SESAR solution coordinates traffic flows into multiple airports by means of a centre manager (CMAN).
The solution operates in conjunction with the arrival management systems of the different airports to develop optimum arrival streams, based on balancing the demand and capacity. The CMAN uses airport data including predicted departure times and the extended arrival management horizon in order to calculate the most efficient arrival streams. This solution looks at converging arrival streams, and spacing the aircraft to optimise traffic flow in order to reduce the need for tactical interventions by controllers. By imposing a time-to-lose (TTL) constraint, aircraft can be sequenced efficiently in the extended terminal area, reducing the need for subsequent radar-vectoring.
The aim is to establish a new multi-airport arrivals concept that is expected to increase air navigation service efficiency, in particular the use of tactical voice communications, and deliver more fuel-efficient arrival streams. The solution offers the most benefit in more complicated terminal airspace, where airports already use arrival management tools to smooth queues. A series of realtime simulations looked at converging arrival streams, spacing aircraft to optimise traffic flow in order to reduce the need for tactical interventions by controllers. The validation exercises also assess training and staffing requirements. This SESAR Solution is available for industrialisation and has been implemented in Germany (Cologne Bonn and Dusseldorf) and Turkey (Istanbul).
SJU references: #08/Release 5
Benefits
- Enhanced predictability
- Improved fuel efficiency
- Better use of available capacity
- Enhanced safety
Datapack