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TATIC A-CDM

The TATIC A-CDM system, together with its modules ACISP (Airport CDM Information Sharing Platform) and PDS (Pre Departure Sequence), enable the interaction between the following partners: Network Operations (NO), Control Tower (Air Traffic Control – ATC), Aircraft Operator – AO, companies that provide auxiliary services for air transport (Ground Handling – GH) and Airport Operational Control Centers (Airport Operations – AOC). Through a platform, they share information to improve operational efficiency, predictability, and airport punctuality.

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In use at the São Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos, the concept is based on the Airport CDM Implementation Manual, prepared by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol).

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BENEFITS

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  • Increased situational awareness of the partners (AO, ATC, GH, AOC, and NO).

  • Improved match planning; with this, the departure of flights can be better planned, as companies will have a clearer view of the arrival of flights.

  • Improvement and optimization of the use of ground handling resources.

  • It provides the ATC and ATFM (Air Traffic Flow Management) entities with a substantial increase in the predictability of flight departures. Without the A-CDM, the control tower is “reactive” to the aircraft's initial call; with the implementation of the concept, there is a commitment that the AO must call at the proposed target time for shims off and triggering.

  • With a large database made up of multiple lines of information (tens of thousands), it is possible to estimate more efficient taxi times from each position for each headland in use. This results in better TSATs and more accurate outputs.

  • The operation planned by the A-CDM partners will bring, with the maturity of the use of the concept, a significant reduction in the average taxi time at the airport. Consequently, there will be less fuel and less emission of polluting gases and noise around the airport. Eurocontrol studies show that reducing the average taxi time by a single minute generates, over the years, savings of millions of dollars for the partners involved and reduces tons of polluting gas emissions into the atmosphere.

  • Greater passenger comfort due to increased predictability and punctuality in the operations.

More planning, less uncertainty

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With the implementation of the A-CDM (Airport Collaborative Decision Making) concept, EOBT (Estimated Off Block Time) began to play a less prominent role in the process, and TOBT (Target Off Block Time) gained more emphasis among the partners. Information becomes more tactical and records the current moment. So, NO, ATC, AO, GH, and AOC partners have access to the data and can see the same information, from different angles and in a more organized way, in a flexible and friendly interface.

As soon as the TOBT is inserted in the ACISP platform and validated by a set of specific rules, a query is sent to the integrated Pre-Departure Sequencer (PDS) module so that a TSAT (Target Start-up Approval Time) is issued. The TSAT is the target time for aircraft activation approval. It is a forecast of approval provided in advance by the ATC control body so that the aircraft can start the departure procedure. Both TOBT and TSAT are commitments signed between the AO (aircraft) and the ATC (control body) to improve the punctuality and predictability of operations.

 

Predictability and punctuality

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TOBT is inserted into the ACISP platform by the AOs. Thirty minutes before the time entered, the platform presents users with the TSAT referring to the informed TOBT. The TSAT reported is based on an available take-off slot, based on the take-off capacity of the airport's runway system at that time.
Once the TSAT is issued, there is a “commitment” between the aircraft (flight) and the control agency. The aircraft must be ready to start at the time of the informed and validated TOBT, and the control entity must authorize the start of the engines under the TSAT provided.

It is a fact that things do not always go as expected and, therefore, there are tolerances foreseen in the system for the fulfillment of this commitment. This tolerance, with the maturity reached by the partners, will tend to reduce over time, generating more and more predictability to operations and, consequently, significant punctuality.

This scenario of predictability and punctuality is clear to the partners involved in the A-CDM, contributing to an increase in situational and operational awareness.

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The HMI (Human Machine Interface) of the platform

 

The ACISP platform organizes and presents information clearly to users through specific tabs. The information referring to the arrival of flights (Arrivals) is separate from that of departure (Departures). In each of these tabs, the user can follow the details of each flight, checking a collection of punctual information about each one of them. In the tab related to the arrival of flights, it is possible to follow the flight number, estimated time of landing, and arrival at the parking position and parking place. In the tab referring to the departure of flights, in addition to the basic information, it is possible to monitor the turn-around time, TOBT, TSAT, departure start time, actual activation time, actual push-back time (when applicable ), estimated time (Target Take Off Time – TTOT) and actual time (Actual Take Off Time – ATOT) of the take-off, among other information. The measurement of results concerning the process is carried out through performance indicators and monitored in a specific tab – KPI (read more below). In addition to the overview, each flight has a collection of additional data that expands the access to information. It is displayed in the following mini-tabs:

 

  • Timeline: lists the chronological history of changes in a flight's data from when the plan is launched on the platform until the time the flight takes off.

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  • Alerts: presents a robust and configurable alert system responsible for informing the non-compliance with rules that could compromise the flight's departure, such as the non-compliance with the TOBT validation or the absence of a flight plan.

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  • Chat: allows the exchange of information on a specific flight between partners (AO, ATC, GH, AOC, and NO).

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  • MLS: records A-CDM Milestones, that is, milestones of aircraft movements from the entry of the flight plan to take-off, which allows the company to increase its efficiency based on data analysis.

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  • Stats: displays dynamic statistics about the A-CDM performance of a given flight.

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PDS Integration

PDS works automatically, semi-automatically or manually. One of the strengths of the PDS in use at the São Paulo International Airport is that it integrates with information from the electronic strip system and with local meteorological information. Using a series of measurable data, it is possible to suggest a default departure flow capacity for the airport runway system. This can be adjusted either automatically or manually by the Supervisor of the ATC entity. The adjustment of the take-off flow capacity is extremely important for the generation of the TSATs of the flights.


The app for mobile devices

AO and GH have access to the application developed to visualize, through a tablet or cell phone, the main information of the ACISP platform, such as the TOBT and TSAT. Thus, if you do not have support from a GH Associated or belonging to general aviation, the pilot will interact with the platform in a very practical way, within the comfort of his cabin, and is able to edit his TOBT or departure start time, for example.

Indicators (KPIs)

The data shared between the partners/users of the platform will be the basis for the generation of performance indicators or KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). These indicators will provide partners with different views (global or specific) on the fundamentals of operational efficiency, predictability and performance. Using KPIs, it will be possible to:

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  • ​Discover possible bottlenecks during flight arrival, turnaround and departure operations.

  • Check the individual performance of each AO compared to the others (benchmarking).

  • Check the quality of data from sources providing information to the ACISP. 


With KPIs, partners can view, for example:

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  • The OTP (On-time Performance) index of incoming and outgoing flights.

  • The delay or advance in meeting important milestones such as the TOBT, TSAT, TTOT.

  • The response times of AOs, AOC and ATC to specific processes.

  • The quality of the estimated landing time provided by the source of the PCICEA (Current Airspace Information Sharing Platform).

  • The quality of the EXIT (Estimated Taxi In Time) / EXOT (Estimated Taxi Out Time) of the flights calculated by the PDS.

  • The difference between the estimated take-off time and the actual take-off time of flights.

  • The real ground time of turnround flights.

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Regardless of the movement number of each company, the process is the same for all of them. Therefore, based on the results present in the KPIs, managers will be able to adjust, over time, the ACISP/PDS rules to obtain the best results.


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 Main features of the platform

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  • Customizable rules.

  • Manual entry of a flight in case of failure to send it by data sources.

  • Cancellation of flights on the platform within the A-CDM concept.

  • Insertion of TOBTs by the AO or GH according to the user profile.

  • Expansion of situational awareness of the ATC concerning aircraft activation through the presentation of the TOBT in electronic strips.

  • Presentation of the ETOT (Estimated Take Off Time) or TTOT (Target Take Off Time) up to 3 hours before departure, according to the flight plan received or the TOBT entered by the user.

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