Increased Runway and Airport Throughput

Project Information

PJ02 EARTH

Grant agreement ID: 731781

DOI

10.3030/731781

Project closed

EC signature date 22 November 2016

Start date 1 December 2016

End date 31 March 2020

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 37 430 158,57

EU contribution

€ 15 592 782,56

Coordinated by

EUROCONTROL - EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR THE SAFETY OF AIR NAVIGATION
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - PJ02 EARTH (Increased Runway and Airport Throughput)

Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2020-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

SESAR PJ02 - EARTH project aka Increased Runway and Airport Throughput aimed to deliver operational and technical improvements to enhance infrastructure and increase traffic throughput while preserving safety and the environment. More specifically, it focused on improving runway and airport throughput, considering wake vortex, weather, the environment and noise, for different levels of traffic demand, future aircraft capabilities and airport configurations.
It worked on seven solutions aiming at increasing runway and airport throughput:
• Solution PJ02-01 aimed to optimise wake turbulence separation minima for arrivals and departures to enhance airport runway throughput and to investigate Wake Risk Monitoring and Wake Decay Enhancing Devices. It worked on the following seven concepts:
• PJ02-01-01: Optimised Runway Delivery on Final Approach
• PJ02-01-02: Optimised Separation Delivery for Departure
• PJ02-01-03: Weather-Dependent Reductions of Wake Turbulence Separations for Departures
• PJ02-01-04: Wake Turbulence Separations (for Arrivals) based on Static Aircraft Characteristics
• PJ02-01-05: Weather-Dependent Reductions of Wake Turbulence Separations for Final Approach
• PJ02-01-06: Wake Turbulence Separations (for Departures) based on Static Aircraft Characteristics
• PJ02-01-08: Reduction of Wake Turbulence Risk through Wake Risk Monitoring
At the end of Wave 1, seven of eight OIs have achieved full V3 maturity, whilst one (AO-0327), remains at V2-ongoing maturity.
• Solution PJ02-02 worked on enhanced approach procedures with the objectives to reducing the noise around airports while improving or at least maintaining the capacity. At the end of the project, all concepts reached the maturity of V3 on going as some elements still need to be evaluated, such as the non-nominal situations.
• Solution PJ02-03 studied the reduction of the Minimum Radar Separation to 2NM from technical and operational perspectives. With the use of a controller separation tool, the solution has reached V3 maturity level, without, it reached only V3 ongoing.
• Solution PJ02-05 aimed at introducing specific independent IFR approach/departure procedures for rotorcraft. By introducing an independent IFR procedure for rotorcraft on final approach and take-off (FATO), both aircraft types can fly simultaneous non-interfering (SNI) operations.
• Solution PJ02-06 focused on the airborne and ground ATS capabilities to improve access into small / medium airports in the visibility conditions below CAT 1 and did not reach V2 maturity level as was expected. PJ02-06 is still on V2 ongoing.
• Solution PJ02-08 addressed Traffic Optimisation on single and multiple runways. The solution describes four different concepts operating in both Execution and Planning Phases (Short and Medium term) to support APP Controllers, Tower Controllers and Supervisors in monitoring and optimising runway system usage:
• PJ02-08-01: Optimised integration of arrival and departure traffic flows with the use of a trajectory based Integrated Runway Sequence. It reached V3 maturity level.
• PJ02-08-02: Optimised use of RWY configuration for multiple runway airports with the combined use of an Integrated Runway Sequence and Runway Manager (RMAN). It reached V3 maturity level.
• PJ02-08-03: Increased Runway Throughput based on local ROT characterization (ROCAT). It reached V3 maturity level.
• PJ02-08-04: Optimised use of RWY capacity for medium airports with the use of enhanced prediction of Runway Occupancy Time (ROT). Its maturity level is V3 on going.
• Solution PJ02-11 aimed at the enhancement for Terminal Area using more efficient curved operation based on GNSS technologies since the beginning of the approach phase and curved RF legs for arrivals and departures as close as possible to the runway. It reached V1 maturity level.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

All work packages worked with objective to reach to expected maturity level at the end of the project. To reach it, they performed validation activities to assess their concepts.
PJ02-01 performed a number of validation activities including fast-time, live trial and several real-time simulations to progress the maturity of wake turbulence separation optimisation concepts to V3 level. Seven of the eight OIs achieved full V3 maturity, whilst one (AO-0327), remains at V2-ongoing maturity.
PJ02-02 performed ground and board validation activities to mature the concepts and at the end of the project, assessed its five OIs at V3-ongoing, as additional validations are considered as needed to assess non-nominal situations when enhanced approach procedures are activated.
PJ02-03 reached V3 maturity level for the concept with the use of a separation support tool, and is still V3 on going when no tool is used.
PJ02-05 made significant progress on the concept of Independent IFR rotorcraft operations at airports. The operational use cases and requirements were developed and refined towards finalizing the Solution Data Pack in 2020. The two flight trials performed between end-2018 and first quarter of 2019 closed the validation path planned for this Solution confirming the expected results.
PJ02-06 performed three validation exercises, one real time and two fast time and reached V2 maturity level.
PJ02-08 focused on developing the concept on Traffic Optimisation on Single and Multiple runways up to a V3 Phase. Several real-time and fast-time validation activities have been conducted.
The Solution PJ02-08 delivered the V3 Data Pack as planned in November 2019, including cost benefit analysis, technical and operational performance assessments with good results covering safety, capacity, efficiency, resilience, environment and Fuel efficiency, access and equity, and human performance to facilitate deployment decisions.
Communication and dissemination activities have been performed through visitor’s days at validations, videos, posters, leaflets and meeting with ANS Providers, Airports and Air Space users.
PJ02-11 focused on the enhancement of the terminal area operations considering efficient curved operations for both arrivals and departures. Good progresses were made in order to meet solution final objectives. Focus Group activities took place to further discuss the concept yielding to the consolidation of each Data Pack documents finalising V1 phase.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

See above

pj02-earth.png