EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR THE SAFETY OF AIR NAVIGATION EUROCONTROL EUROCONTROL EXPERIMENTAL CENTRE LONDON Heathrow CDM WP1 EEC Note No. 03/05 Project London Heathrow CDM Issued: February 2005 The information contained in this document is the property of the EUROCONTROL Agency and no part should be reproduced in any form without the Agency’s permission. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of the Agency. REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Reference: Security Classification: EEC Note No. 03/05 Unclassified Originator: Originator (Corporate Author) Name/Location: EEC - APT EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre Centre de Bois des Bordes (Airport Throughput Business Area) B.P.15 F – 91222 Brétigny-sur-Orge Cedex FRANCE Telephone: +33 (0)1 69 88 75 00 Sponsor: Sponsor (Contract Authority) Name/Location: EUROCONTROL EUROCONTROL Agency 96, Rue de la Fusée B-1130 Brussels BELGIUM Telephone: +32 2 729 90 11 TITLE: LONDON Heathrow CDM WP1 Authors Date Pages Figures Tables Annexes References R. Lane 02/2005 xvi + 115 39 11 3 - D. Hogg Project Task No. Sponsor Period CDM London - 2004 Heathrow Airport Distribution Statement: (a) Controlled by: Peter ERIKSEN - EUROCONTROL BUSINESS AREA MANAGER Roger LANE - EUROCONTROL CDM PROJECT MANAGER (b) Special Limitations: None (c) Copy to NTIS: YES / NO Descriptors (keywords): Collaborative Decision Making – Target Off Block Time – Common Situational Awareness – Flight Update Message – Departure Planning Information – Start-up Approval Time – Variable Taxi Time Abstract: This project is a collaboration between the EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre (EEC), EUROCONTROL Airport Operations Unit (APR) and London Heathrow Airport represented by the BAA, UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS), British Airways (BA), bmi and other partners. Representatives from EUROCONTROL performed a study on the current airside operations and information flows at Heathrow by visiting the various partners to give presentations and conduct interviews. The results of these meetings are detailed in the first part of this document and identify the missing information gaps, weaknesses in procedures and/or equipment and areas that would benefit from the introduction of CDM measures. The latter part of the document details the steps identified by the Working group (WG) necessary to resolve the issues. London Heathrow CDM WP1 EUROCONTROL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION EUROCONTROL was invited by BAA and its London Heathrow Airport (LHR) partners - the Aircraft Operators (AOs), Ground Handlers (GH) and National Air Traffic Services (NATS) to investigate the potential value of implementing Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) practices at Heathrow in order to further optimise the operations of the LHR aeronautical platform. The project began on the 22 September 2003 and after interviews and meetings with the airport partners, EUROCONTROL developed this document and it was reviewed and agreed by the partners in September 2004. The document details the current state of operations at LHR and identifies the requirements that LHR needs to fulfil in order to become a CDM Airport (CDM-A). KEY FINDINGS IMPROVING ARRIVAL INFORMATION - Improving the information concerning arrivals (estimates and actual times) will be the first essential step to establishing a CDM-A platform at LHR. It is seen by the partners as a potential quick win and will act as a catalyst towards providing accurate departure times. The CDM project has identified several methods of improving arrival estimates, from the Flight Update Message (FUM) sent by the CFMU three hours before landing, to the A- SMGCS providing instant and accurate landing and in-block times. It is important that these changes are implemented as soon as possible in order to show the partners that CDM can make a difference, maintaining commitment and support from the partners and encouraging them to provide accurate departure information in return. It would also be useful for LTCC to have access to airport information concerning arrivals, such as terminal, stand availability and delay. IMPROVING DEPARTURE INFORMATION - Departure estimates are generally more difficult to predict than arrival estimates, as they are subject to many factors, such as late passengers, CTOT, ground handling resources, late arrival of the aircraft etc. Analysis of Estimated Time of Departure (ETD) in June 2004 showed that only 50% of flights departed within +-5 minutes of their ETD. Departure can also refer to take off time as well as off block time and here ATC and the CFMU are interested to get an accurate prediction of the Target Take Off Time. Obtaining a more accurate Off Block Time can be achieved by tracking key events (milestones) that occur during a turn-round and providing that information to the concerned partners. An accurate Estimated In Block Time is essential to be able to estimate a turn-round time and this can then generate a Target Off Block Time which is confirmed by firstly the AO/GH and then adjusted by ATC (TSAT) subject to the operational situation at the time. When an accurate TSAT has been agreed it can be linked to a variable taxi time to provide an accurate Target Take Off Time, which will be used by the CFMU to enhance the European Air Traffic Flow Management. With a transparent view of partners intentions, departure management will become more efficient – better punctuality, reduced queuing, enhanced resource management, fewer wasted slots and less stress for many of the partners involved in the turn-round. In order to reach this situation, the current system will need to be modified and partners will need to adapt the way they operate today, which could result in changes to procedures and Letters of Agreement / Service Level Agreements. Project London Heathrow CDM - EEC Note No. 03/05 v EUROCONTROL London Heathrow CDM WP1 With the ever increasing environmental pressures on the aviation industry, any mitigation strategies deriving from CDM implementation should be capitalised on. Reduced aircraft taxi times and queuing reduces fuel resource use, ground noise and emissions to the atmosphere such as NOx, unburnt hydrocarbons and greenhouse gases. In addition to reducing the social and economic burden arising from these impacts, such reductions can also alleviate the risk or severity of local constraints and may also help to avoid breaches of national or EU regulations. This may be of strategic importance to major airports close to residential areas. IMPROVING THE IT PLATFORM - The foundation for CDM is for the partners to provide and have access to accurate and timely information. There are many systems currently used by the different partners and many feed into the main BAA interface IDAHO. A general Staff Information System (SIS) is available to most of the partners providing arrival and departure information; however, it is generally considered that the information on SIS is unreliable, hard to read and inadequate for making operational decisions. The situation can be improved by linking/upgrading the current systems so that the partners have access to a platform that displays the best data available at the right time. Several new tools such as A-SMGCS are also available to provide partners an improved awareness of the operational situation and these can also be incorporated into the platform. System modifications need not be expensive as much of the data exists at present and it could be distributed via an intranet/extranet HMI. With many Airline Operation Centres (AOCs) not situated locally, the benefits of any web based system would allow remote access to the AOCs worldwide. With a clearer picture of the local situation at LHR operational decisions could be made a lot earlier than they are now. EXCHANGE OF CFMU MESSAGES (FUM/DPI) - The CFMU is currently modifying their software to be able to send and receive new messages (FUM/DPI) to/from an airport. The aim of these messages is to enhance the overall flow of European Air Traffic by firstly providing a CDM airport (CDM-A) with an accurate estimated landing time up to 3 hours before, and then to use an accurate take off estimate from the airport to update the flight plan for ATFM purposes. The airport will have to ensure that the departure data sent to the CFMU conforms to certain requirements, therefore, it will be essential that the airport introduces CDM applications such as the TOBT procedure and variable taxi times in order to reach a high data quality. The messages will be managed by the airport’s CDM platform and exchanged automatically with the CFMU from one address at the airport. By providing precise information on departure times, one of the main benefits Aircraft Operators can expect to receive will be more flexibility from the CFMU regarding slot shifting. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS In April 2004 BAA took steps to commence improvements to the arrival information based on the initial findings of this CDM study. These steps involve mainly improving the source of information that is already provided and therefore should not necessitate major system changes. As previously stressed, improved arrival estimates should be the first step towards CDM and will help to motivate partners in subsequent CDM implementation. Implementing changes for departures, CFMU messages and the IT platform will require more time and complex management, as partners will need to accept changes to their current way of working and this could mean modifying SLA/LoAs, an element of training and briefing partners on the changes. vi Project London Heathrow CDM - EEC Note No. 03/05 London Heathrow CDM WP1 EUROCONTROL It is recommended that BAA dedicates a full time Project Manager (PM) to be responsible for implementing CDM at LHR. The PM will require technical and operational advisors as well as the continued support of LHR CDM Working / Steering Groups and EUROCONTROL. Due to the large amount of on going projects at LHR (T5, preparation for the A380 and a new ATC TWR etc.) it is appreciated that implementing CDM in one big step will be difficult, therefore, a plan should be created that will establish a phased implementation e.g.