Total Airport Management (Operational Concept and Logical Architectur)

Abstract

Airports are seen as constraints to growth in the future air transport system. In the context of a doubling of traffic by 2020, increased investment, development and research will be needed to support continuous improvement in airport throughput, efficiency and punctuality with continued safety considerations. Airport processes must be fully integrated within the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system and capable of interacting with other system components in order to be aware of the priorities of aircraft operators and the constraints of the air transport network in order to optimally fulfil the airspace users’ needs when making decisions. As a first step towards this evolution, all essential airport processes from passenger check-in to aircraft turn-round must work collaboratively with the common goal of ensuring that each departure meets its agreed 4D-trajectory. Agreement between air and ground on the 4D-trajectory, based on precise target take-off and target arrival times, not only increases the efficiency of the ATM system but also that of the airport itself. Airports are the nodes of the air transport system. A performance-based airport is needed as a pre-requisite for a future performance-based ATM system. Therefore future concepts aim at an integrated airport management, where all major aircraft operator, airport, aerodrome ATC and ground handling processes are conducted using a single data set. This is embodied in an Airport Operations Centre (APOC) where operators constantly communicate and co-ordinate, develop and maintain dynamically joint plans and execute those in their respective area of responsibility. Different possible APOC-implementations are expected, ranging from a distributed virtual APOC to a high-tech physical APOC, even with new operator roles. The core information basis of Total Airport Management is the Airport Operations Plan (AOP). The AOP is firstly an en-route-to-en-route-conversion of the Network Operations Plan (NOP), enriched by airport specific data. It ranges from agreed airport performance targets, hard and soft constraints of the different stakeholders to a detailed event-resource-usage description enabling the airport to be operated as a time-ordered system. Different implementation options of the AOP exist, ensuring as well the commercial interests of the stakeholders. As the AOP is for sure a result of a dynamic and repetitive layered planning process of several stakeholders, sufficient processes have to be designed to efficiently (and effectively) achieve this joint plan. The APOC facilitates the generation, discussion, commitment to and maintenance of such an AOP. The processes outlined in this document for an APOC are based on some proven principles of distributed complex C4I (command and control) system approaches. The TAM approach integrates existing optimisation support systems. These have been developed in the past to assist the human operators in their individual workflows. E.g. arrival, departure and surface management tools have already demonstrated that they can lead to improved safety and efficiency. But it is only when they evolve from today’s situation where they act as individual support tools and become components of an integrated airport information architecture that they can act as holistic decision-support tools for all airport partners. This document, which is the result of a joint initiative between DLR and EUROCONTROL, is to be seen as the initial definition of the Total Airport Management (TAM) operational concept and the logical architecture of an APOC in the future. Compatibility with previous and ongoing work in DLR and EUROCONTROL is ensured where possible. It is envisaged that the initial concept will be further developed and validated, e.g. by performing human-in-the-loop simulations within SESAR or in related activities.