Air Traffic System Guides Planes in for Landing
Client: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Challenge: Optimize arrival air traffic flow to the runways across the nation by developing a coordinated arrival sequence and schedule for aircraft and display this plan in real time to air traffic controllers.
Solution: Center Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) Automation Systems Traffic Management Advisor (CTAS TMA)
Results: A highly upgradeable air traffic management system capable of capturing the evolving nuances of air traffic control to increase capacity and flow and lessen workload for controllers at airports during peak times.
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It's rush hour. Highways are jammed, freeways are congested and travelers expect delays. But an innovative tool is keeping the runways at the nation's airports free from gridlock.
Hundreds of miles from their destinations, aircraft are being directed by teams of air traffic controllers and traffic management coordinators (TMCs), to adjust speed and altitude, take their place in line to land and maximize capacity and flow upon arrival. They direct planes taking off from nearby airports to wait for departure times that will allow them to fly without delay.
The TMCs utilize a system developed by CSC for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), called Center Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) Automation Systems Traffic Management Advisor, or CTAS TMA. Since 1996, CSC has developed and maintained this system for the FAA, and efforts to expand its capabilities across the country are underway.
The technology of arrival
The TMA system is designed to optimize arrival air traffic flow to the runways across the nation. Its goal is to develop a coordinated arrival sequence and schedule for aircraft and display this plan to air traffic controllers. The tool calculates arrival schedules in real time based on flight plans, wind data and information entered by TMCs and air traffic controllers.
As planes approach the airport, the system creates optimized traffic flow schedules. It produces an arrival plan meeting flow requirements for the adapted airport. The tool achieves this by generating a schedule that eliminates conflict on the runway. It graphically depicts arrival times of aircraft on screen and continually predicts aircraft Estimated Time of Arrivals (ETAs).
TMCs then use separation strategies to make strategic and tactical planning decisions to manage the flow, including spacing between aircraft and providing a sequence for arrival, and determining optimal departure times. These timelines are transmitted to air traffic controllers who communicate to aircraft, and place the arrival planes into a time sequential spatial order.
"The idea is to get rid of the peaks and valleys of arrival traffic, smooth out the flow and constantly provide an optimal arrival schedule to increase capacity and passengers," explains Glen Bailey, CSC's CTAS TMA program manager. "Without pouring more concrete for new runways, we're increasing capacity and improving efficiency at these airports. Reducing the delay for a flight means that less fuel will be used."
CSC's Role in CTAS TMA
Many traffic controllers met the system’s introduction with reluctance, but this was quickly overcome when the benefits of the CTAS TMA were made clear, such as reducing the length of "rush hour" periods and therefore workload.
"We're leveraging the experience of our CSC engineers who have more than 30 years of expertise working [the] with FAA into this program," Bailey says. "The FAA is going through a complete modernization of their system and CTAS TMA is a key part of that. We are tied into the future."
In the 1990s, the FAA found that the traditional approach to developing air traffic management systems wasn't working because there were too many nuances that weren’t being captured. So a new spiral development approach was employed, where new systems could be deployed more quickly.
"As a result of that decision, this system is providing significant benefits to where we have employees," says Rob Williams, FAA program manager for CTAS TMA. "Everywhere we've deployed this airports that feed into the system are experiencing a 3 to 5 percent increase in peak capacity arrival."
Expanding benefits for the future
The FAA tasked CSC to develop the system under the evolutionary spiral approach paradigm, which allows for a building block approach by incrementally developing and deploying system functionality and providing support products and services.
"The original intent was to replace the original systems at six air traffic control centers," Bailey says. "But the program became wildly successful. It worked so well, that once a site was upgraded, it seemed to realize immediate benefits. Now the FAA has made it a national program."
CSC developed multiple spiral development phases that provided numerous features and continues maintenance of the software. Features include failure recovery capabilities, system monitor and control functionality, redeveloped graphic user interface, an air traffic management data distribution system, data recording and playback capabilities, adjacent center data feed functionality, and local departure airport scheduling.
"Overall the relationship with CSC has been excellent," Williams adds. "It's a very collaborative relationship and CSC is very responsive. CSC did a good job of helping us keep the cost down and developing the system on time. We've never been behind schedule and always been within the budget."