The Principal Objective of Air Traffic Management - Essay Example

ATM (Air Traffic Management) Potential Benefits to the Aviation Industry As the aviation, industry develops more and more swiftly, the effect of air traffic operations on the global atmosphere, in addition to the local effects on noise and air quality, becomes progressively more significant. Efforts to manage or diminish the environmental impact of air traffic have acknowledged a variety of alternative that might lessen the impact of aircraft engine emissions. In particular, it is anticipated that enhancements in ATM could help lessen aviation fuel burn, and therefore decrease the intensity of aircraft engine emissions. The principal objective of ATM is to speed up and maintain a safe and methodical flow of air traffic throughout all segments of operation. ATM is made of ground and air traffic component, both which must intimately incorporated throughout well-defined procedures. ATM must also provide due reflections to the cost of implementing both air and ground components, as well as the capability to meet the requirements of users with minimum constraints and without compromising arranged levels of safety. The system must be designed to contain existing normal peak traffic demands and projected future escalation. The demands of growth in aviation entails significant increases in the efficiency of the system, both airport and airspace capacity, otherwise there will be a remarkable increase in congestion. However, since the demands of growth is not restricted to a state and anticipated service enhancements cannot be realize productively by one state, implementation of ATM to a wider area or “global” ATM is indispensable (IATA 2004;Sudarshan 2003). The major goal of an integrated or global ATM system according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is to meet safely the expectation of ATM partners. It should help aircraft operators meet their planned times of departure and arrival to the furthermost extent and adhere to their preferred flight profiles with minimum constraints and no compromise to safety. In order to accomplish this goal, new technologies like Communication Navigation Surveillance (CNS) must be conquered through international harmonization of ATM Standards and Procedures. Sharing the same view, aircraft operators see the globalization of ATM as advantageous for aircraft operating internationally since it will equip aircraft with a minimum set of avionics that is functional ubiquitously. In addition, much of the anticipated service enhancements cannot be significantly executed by a single state and therefore must be implemented in nearby regions. It view of these expectations, ATM regional concept of providing ATM over expanded areas must be pursued (IATA 2004; Sudarshan 2003; Penner 1999). However, future ATM system design must pass the test of international recognition and interoperability. It must permit for implementation at diverse levels of complexity to provide services customized to specific applications and regions. In this perspective, it is essential to make certain that neighboring systems and procedures are capable to interface in such a way that boundaries are translucent to airspace users. Therefore, the purpose of future ATM system are to afford superior flexibility and efficiency by accommodating user-preferred flight profiles, enhance existing level of safety, accommodate the full range of aircraft types and airborne capabilities, and improve the provisions of information to users including weather conditions and traffic conditions, and the availability of facilities. Furthermore, it will systematize airspace in harmony with ATM provisions and procedures, augment user participation in ATM decision-making including air to ground computer conversation for flight plan negotiation, and to the maximum extent possible, create a single range of airspace where boundaries are observable to users. Finally, it has to meet the prerequisite of future air traffic demand and because of this ICAO outlines the future ATM system (IATA 2004; Sudarshan 2003). According to ICAO the outline, the ATM system must accommodate a wide community of users and different levels of avionic equipage. The major design challenge in the development of ATM procedures and techniques in using new technologies to realize the system improvements is focus on the role of the human operators. Information provided to the pilot and air traffic controller and the tasks assigned must be dependable with their management and control responsibilities as well as the natural individuality and potentials of human beings. As fundamental understanding of human factors enhanced and facilitates for testing the human factors aspects of systems designs become available, the design process will become effortless (Sudarshan 2003). Pursuing ATM global expansion, the ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection has developed a methodology and tool for assessing global emissions and fuel consumption and evaluating the impact of various CNS/ATM (Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management) enhancements. This methodology extends to estimate the environmental benefits in diverse regions because of the transition to CNS/ATM. The anticipated benefits of CNS/ATM for the airlines in particular, are the creation of a supportive relationship to allow more rapid and dependable transmission between ground and airborne system elements. More precise and dependable navigation systems will also allow aircraft to navigate in all types of airspace and operate close together. The CNS/ATM methodology is expected to decrease separation standards over oceanic airspace, augment access to remote areas, progressively introduced a 1,000 feet vertical separation above 29,000 feet, boost opportunity for more dynamic and direct routings, and overall improvement of safety (Sudarshan 2003; Penner 1999; Rycroft 2003). For the states providing and maintaining extensive infrastructures, CNS/ATM system aside from enhanced safety, is expected to diminish the overall cost of operation and maintenance of facilities as the customary ground systems become archaic and the new system takes over. The system will allow developing states to develop their infrastructures to handle more traffic with least investment as these states have huge areas of obtainable but unusable airspace predominantly due to the cost involved in purchasing, operating, and maintaining the required ground infrastructures. In other words, CNS/ATM system is a reasonably priced modernization program that incorporates precision and non-precision approaches. In terms of general aviation benefits, aviation and utility aircraft will find it ever easier to access avionics equipment that will allow them to function in flight condition, into and out of airports that they would normally have been prohibited before (Sudarshan 2003; Penner 1999). One Sky is IATA’ vision of a global ATM system that offers enhance safety and efficiency while being big enough for worldwide air traffic growth in an airspace that is sound and free of the ineffectuality resulting from national borders. It will reduce overall cost of the ATM community such as airlines through operational improvements, effective, avionics equipage, and reasonable user charges. The IATA’s vision is an exceptional challenge for the whole community to function as real partners where the accomplishment of one part of the community is associated to the success of aviation in general. This is in response to the reality that airlines just cannot afford to continue funding the propagation of standards, local technology solutions and equipage requirements or projects that fail to realize the full potential of advanced technologies. Full advantage must be taken of the potential of existing and future ATM improvements such as abridged vertical separation minima, required navigation performance, and are navigation, Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADV), Data-link, free routing, and the capability of sophisticated modern aircraft to deliver the optimum system solution with minimum deviation from the user-referred flight plans. In the same manner, the gradual transition to the ATM system envisioned by ICAO ATM Operational Concept must be conducted in a manner that enables users to develop a business case with future benefits, supports the attainment of challenging cost-efficiency targets and results in lower costs to users. The successful experiences in different parts of the world should hearten all regions to follow as soon as possible (IATA 2005). The IATA vision for future ATM system has a variety of concerns and to name a few, IATA considers safety as the highest priority in Air Traffic Management and therefore a comprehensive process for safety management must be implemented that enables the ATM community to attain efficient and effective results. They believed that ATM plays a significant role in ensuring overall aviation safety thus safety standards and risk and safety management practices should be applied systematically to the system. To guarantee implementation of any elements in the global aviation system, safety must be assessing against suitable criteria and in accordance with fitting and globally established safety management processes and practices. Another major concern for IATA is security in which the ATM system should contribute and protect all ATM –related information as well. There should be equilibrium in security risk management between the needs of the member of the ATM community who require access to the system while protecting the system. More importantly, in the events of threats to aircraft or threats using aircraft, ATM shall make available responsible authorities with proper assistance and information (IATA 2005). The environmental impact of the growing demand for air transport is a challenge face by airlines. This is despite the incessant improvements in the environmental performance of the air transport industry, a number of explicit noise and emissions concerns still exist. Consequently, a variety of regulatory bodies enforced restrictions and financial burdens on air transport hence the ATM system should contribute to the protection of the environment by considering noise, gaseous emissions and other environmental issues in the implementation and operation of the global ATM system. Another concern of the global ATM system is to use the inherent capacity to meet airspace user demand at peak times and locations with minimum restrictions on traffic flow. Capacity should increase along with the growing efficiency, flexibility, and predictability while ensuring safety and environmental health. In addition, the global ATM system must be flexible to service interruption and the resulting momentary loss of capacity. The operational and economic cost-effectiveness of gate-to-gate flight operations should be address by efficiency. The ATM should continually meet expectations of airspace users who in general want to depart and arrive at the time they select and fly the trajectory they determine within the constraint of cost-effectiveness. Finally is the increasing navigation capability of aircraft that has surpassed the service capabilities of existing ATM system thus IATA members support global implementation of the concept Required Navigation Performance (RNP) developed by ICAO and also support GNSS as the primary radio navigation system positioning and timing in the near future (IATA 2005; Rycroft 2003). The different visions for a Global ATM system seems ideal and could help sustain aviation development through the years. The reality that a single state cannot possibly accommodate and implement expected service improvements due to the expense involved in purchasing, operating , and maintaining the necessary ground infrastructures is enough reason to expand the existing ATM to a global system. The most important vision as far as the public is concern is probably safety and environmental health, which will actually benefit not only the public but airspace users as well. An aviation industry with a global ATM system that could improve navigation, enhance security, surveillance, increase capacity, efficiency, enable collaborative decision-making, a performance based system, and superb communication is certainly gaining an advantage and ensuring its sustainable growth. References IATA, 2004, “ATM Implementation Road Map-Short and Medium Term”, Release Version I October 15, 2004, International Air Transport Association IATA, 2005, “One Sky Global ATM: A Strategic Vision for Future Air Traffic Management”, Volume 1 2005+, International Air Transport Association Penner Joyce, 1999, “Aviation and the Global Atmosphere: A Special Report of IPCC Working Groups”, Published 1999 Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521664047 Rycroft Michael, 2003, “Satellite Navigation Systems: Policy, Commercial and Technical Interaction”, Published 2003 Springer, ISBN 1402016786   Sudarshan Hindupur, 2003, “Seamless Sky”, Published 2003 Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., ISBN 0754631761  Read More