Runway capacity is a limiting factor at many European hub airports, and expansion programmes are frequently hampered by lengthy and unpopular review processes. Looking at alternative measures, SESAR partners are researching technical, procedural and performance aspects of runway operations to improve the efficiency and resilience of capacity constrained airports.

This candidate solution enables arrival runway occupancy time (AROT) airborne predictions which are downlinked to air traffic control ahead of touchdown during the descent phase. The predictions take into consideration the performance characteristics of the aircraft, its weight and braking capability, the selected runway exit, atmospheric conditions, wind strength and direction, and the condition of the runway. The AROT is automatically predicted on-board the aircraft in real-time and then shared with the ground controller to deliver more accurate separation management for consecutive aircraft.

The candidate solution targets capacity constrained runways during high intensity runway operations and applies to very large, large and possibly medium airports. Expected benefits include an increase in runway throughput thanks to a reduction in approach separation due to a more accurate prediction of the runway occupancy time.

BENEFITS

Increased runway throughput