After more than a year of travel restrictions linked to the pandemic, many are eager to make plans to take them on their long-awaited vacation. Many sighed and waited a long time: their departure was delayed and they sat in the hostel for a while. Commercial air travel depends on complex airport operations, and when many variables are in play, it is easy to cut performance.
It is intended to modify NASA’s Aerospace Technology Demonstration 2 or ADT-2 program. One of the challenges facing air traffic management is the development of ADT-2 technologies, which predict airport traffic conditions and push the best departure times for flights from the gate.
This both reduces delays and changes wait times at the gate instead of taxiways with engines running. The ultimate goal is to take the passengers from the entrance to the heavens with the minimum delay. The benefits – for the table, passengers, airlines and the environment – are already increasing.
Most of us value everything that drives a functional airport. But a lot of information regarding arrivals, departures, surface traffic, delays, sudden weather changes and more needs to be monitored, contacted and arranged for different groups.
The current system handles all this using a simple body line: When an aircraft is ready to take off, it stands in line and waits to use the runway. But, this queue can be quickly backed up when unforeseen problems arise, which can affect both departures and arrivals. To protect against those effects, air traffic managers can add more buffer time to flight schedules—an additional inefficiency.
By making aircraft movements in the sky more predictable from above, NASA researchers aim to help reduce that buffer and improve aircraft flow through airports. ADT-2 instruments help line up the aircraft.
More connectivity, better flights
ATD-2’s strategy is to integrate multiple data inputs from federal airline management and airlines and modify that data so that it can be shared more easily across different work systems. The system operates on FAA-controlled aircraft components and on the ground managed by the airline.
A great realization based on ATD-2 is that airport traffic congestion cannot be resolved individually. You need to calculate the traffic in the nearby airspace. Instead of having separate systems for arrival, departure and surface transport, the ADT-2 created a system for managing all phases of this aircraft. This software is called Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface Traffic Management or IADS.
Instead of physically queuing up plans as they prepare for departure, the IADS planner creates a virtual queue, similar to a restaurant booking system. This way, waiting time can be spent instead of burning the engine and gate or taxiway fuel at the gate. The result is a highly efficient and environmentally friendly task.
By integrating data from previously independent systems, the ADT-2 IATS system provides operators with an understanding of airport transportation conditions at various facilities. The ATD-2 tool includes applications that consult with users to determine which aircraft position it should be in, when and whether the entire process should work most efficiently. Everyone involved can find different factors at play and a common goal to work with.
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The ADT-2 team first tested its flight planning technology in September 2017 in a test with real-world users at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. The FAA, in partnership with commercial airlines and air traffic controllers’ unions, demonstrates how improving the ATD-2 approach can reduce delays and reduce emissions.
By May 2021, the IADS instrument will store one million gallons of jet fuel. Avoiding carbon dioxide emissions is equivalent to planting more than 159,000 trees in an urban environment. This savings is possible by reducing the running time of the jet engine, which also reduces maintenance costs. Overall, passengers avoided 837 hours of flight delays and $4 million worth of time saved. The airline’s flight crew was worth $1.2 million.
That too at the airport. If there were days of ATD-2 equipment operating at airports across the country, the benefits would have skyrocketed. Following completion of the project in September 2021, NASA forwards the research and technical results to the FAA and industry partners. The FAA’s Terminal Flight Data Manager Program will launch IADS capabilities at 27 major airports over the coming years — made possible by NASA’s route work.
Milestones:
The ATD-2 Integrated Arrival Departure Surface or IADS system consists of two distinct displays:
NASA developed the key components of the IADS system and used them to verify concepts developed by the FAA and industry. Lessons learned from the demonstration were that in addition to the technology being modified by NASA, the FAA reduced the risk of implementing ATD-2 capabilities and established a business case for the investment needed in industry.
Demonstrations at several airports in/under Dallas. International and Nearby Airports in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (April-September 2021)
With departing aircraft competing for limited air resources, the team has expanded to a single airport to improve the performance of surface operations at nearby airports. NASA’s Terminal Table Tool Analyzes Anti-Space Demand Using IATS Traffic Forecasts
