Air Traffic Management

Would you like to know what is the real-time status of the European air traffic network? The delay situation or the events that are affecting the network? Then why not go to Eurocontrol’s Network Operations Portal: https://www.cfmu.eurocontrol.int/PUBPORTAL/gateway/spec/index.html

This portal is made up of a number of portlets each giving a distinct piece of information ranging from a map illustrating the network situation to flight and delay situation graphs, to lists of events that will affect the network, to headline news on the subject. A number of other links will lead you to other resources such as the European AIS Database [EAD] or to Eurocontrol’s e-conferencing tool [which only allows authorised access]

Using the tabs towards the upper part of the screen, one can move from the real time situation [tactical tab] to what will happen in a few hours time [pre-tactical] to the plans and expectations in the future [strategic]. One can also see what happened at a given point in history by accessing the post-operations tab.

There are two versions of the NOP, a public version, to which I provided the link, and a restricted version for air traffic management stakeholder usage [e.g. air traffic flow management cells, control centres, airlines, airport operators, military users, etc.

Apart from providing a wealth of information, the NOP provides a transparency of the European air traffic situation that very few other industries do in fact show. This shows clearly the ambition of the industry to keep improving its performance in a collaborative way.<-->

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As I am writing, 47 days are left before the flight adherence days take place.

The flight adherence days are a European trial that will take place across Europe on the 29^th and 30^th of September 2010. This initiative means that all flights will adhere to the planned cruising level for any portion of the flight as recorded on Field 15 of their flight plan.

The effect this will have on the network will be studied in comparison with the usual situation. The benefits will be considered and will help to think about further ways on how to improve the network performance.

There is a web site dedicated to this initiative which is very interactive and which answers to a number of very interesting and frequently asked questions like whether a controller can still give direct routes during the trials [find out the answer yourself by going to this link: http://www.adherencedays.com/ ]

I close with the rules of the trial:

“Pilots and ATC should not request/allocate an alternative level except in the event of an emergency, weather avoidance or to achieve separation.”

So for the success of this initiative, let us hope that these days will not be characterised by generalised thunderstorm or clear air turbulence

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[It is too early to comment on the effect of the volcanic ash cloud on air traffic management and aviation, I will when the dust will settle ]

Screen shot from the flight level compliance module

Most of us have heard of the butterfly effect metaphor [if you haven't click here] where in a complex system, a small change here causes an overproportionate effect there. ATM is a complex system and the butterfly effect may be of application.

How many times we as controllers have given a level which is different from the one onthe flight plan? How many times have pilots requested different levels themselves?  These seem as begnin actions in the direction of service provision. But are they?

This short, free and readily accessible e-learning module from EUROCONTROL’s CFMU describes the effects.

Click here to proceed and take a look at the image below to quickly find the module

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Image embedded from yahoo news

Towards the end of March, one of Iceland’s volcanoes, the Eyjafjallajokull, started erupting. Apart from lava and flooding from ice and snow sitting on top, it has put a biq quantity of volcanic ash into the air.

This volcanic ash is of danger to aircraft. For more information on volcanic ash and aviation, please go here:

http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Volcanic_Ash

Based on the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation normal air traffic control services cannot be provided to flights in airspaces affected by volcanic ash.

Eurocontrol is coordinating with local Air Navigation Service providers to ensure safety and to mitigate, as much as possible the situation. Here is the press release.

Charts indicating the presence of volcanic ash are regularly updated and presented by met offices and observatory units to aviation.

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Here are two videos explaining the military flying in the Single European Sky

Part 1

and

Part 2

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It has been a long time since I last wrote on this blog. I thought no one was reading it, but I was wrong. So here I am again!

This time I have been thinking about the training progression for student air traffic controllers and wondering whether it is the most efficient manner to train students.

Surely it follows a logical flow: It starts with mainly theory and gradually evolves into practice. The logical theory behind this is that a student needs to know the theory before he or she can practice.

But is this efficient?

What I mean is that: is teaching theory before practice an efficient way?

The major difficulty and failure area for student air traffic controllers lies with the skill capacity needed to control aircraft. A significant number of students, even after sophisticated screening during selection seem not to have the required capacity to control aircraft. Equally  true, ATC training seems not to have yet found the right methods to teach anyone who is willing and motivated to become an air traffic controller the necessary skills to do the job. An innate level of the skill set is still a pre-requirement.

Since the difficulty is with the skill, why do we wait a few months before we start training for this area?

Is this not a waste of time?

Why should we not be able to discover at an earlier stage whether or not the student has what it takes to make it?

Why do we waste a few months of our resources and money, and of the students time when we could do it earlier?

So the question is: is a few months worth of theoretical training necessary before the student can start to practice?

For me the answer is no.

In a simulated environment, one could easily create a basic set of rules [that do not condradict the real ones] that could be quickly taught to the students for them to start practicing. For example, the full phraseology is not necessary, basic commands such as climb, descend, turn, proceed, etc. could be taught in a few hours.
Similarly the complexity of route structures, letters of agreement, advanced procedures, the encoding and decoding of route points and location indicators, etc. could also come later. We could easily teach students that this aircraft represented by this symbol needs to go from A to B via C and D, it will enter the sector at Level 250 and needs to exit at Level 300, etc. Students would need to keep 1000 feet separation between aircraft and 5nm between two which have less than this vertical separation minimum

The theory would then come after an initial period where in the student would have demonstrated that most probably [one can never be 100% sure, but at least there is a better indication than with our current training path] he or she has the innate skill necessary to successfully complete training.

I think if we did this, we would be saving ourselves money and time.

We would also be saving the students’ time.

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