Tue, Sep 23, 2008
Program Increases Airport Capacity Through Better Planning
Passenger delays are being reduced
thanks to a program that increases the efficient use of runway
capacity at major airports, according to the Federal Aviation
Administration.
The agency says airlines are reporting major savings in time --
and money -- because of Traffic Management Advisor (TMA), which
analyzes traffic approaching an airport hundreds of miles away and
calculates scheduled arrival times to maximize arrival
capacity.
TMA's metering capability has resulted in capacity increases of
3 to 5 percent, with some airports seeing even higher results. At
Newark, where the system recently began operating, preliminary data
shows TMA's time-based metering function is already helping reduce
delays. One airline reports reduced flying time of four minutes per
flight into Newark.
TMA is also expected to be up and running at John F. Kennedy and
LaGuardia airports next year.
TMA provides controllers with automated information on airport
arrival demand and available capacity to improve sequencing and to
better balance arrival and departure rates. Essentially, TMA
evaluates the inventory that is scheduled for a particular
airport.
Overall, ground delays and time in the air are reduced with TMA,
the FAA asserts.
The benefit of TMA and its time-based metering capability can be
seen mostly when demand exceeds capacity as the system calculates
how best to flow traffic into an airport during each hour.
Using TMA, holding patterns have been reduced going into
Phoenix, according to the FAA. TMA has also been used to manage
throughput for both arrivals and departures at Las Vegas.
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