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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 2437.PDF
Winner US Federal Aviation Administration Achievement Operational implementation of the Traffic Management Advisor The TMA is already producing results at the FAA's air traffic control centres As the US national airspace and airports become increasingly crowded, tools designed to manage traffic flows and plan aircraft operations in busy en route airspace are ever more important. The US Federal Aviation Administration successfully implemented its traffic man agement advisor (TMA) at some of the country's busiest airports during 2000 and the system is already showing efficiency results. The TMA is part of the FAAs Free Flight programme, which aims to remove restrictions and thereby increase the efficiency of the national airspace system. The goal of the programme is to improve existing resources, increase user choice, provide more open skies and improve system capacity. At the same time, safety must not be affected, and air traffic controller workload cannot rise. The TMA is one capability which the FAA and industry are using to reach Free Flight goals. The TMA is a strategic planning tool for en route controllers and traffic management specialists. It provides computer automation to enhance arrival sequence planning and the efficiency of airtraffic operations in the extended terminal airspace surrounding major airports. The TMA allows en route controllers to develop complete arrival scheduling plans of separated aircraft. These plans support early runway assignments that maximise the airport's use of available capacity, resulting in significant fuel savings and reduced passenger delays. The TMA was implemented at four of the FAAs planned eight sites between February and December 2000 and is already yielding results. Since its imple mentation at the Fort Worth Center, the TMA has increased the arrival rate into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by 5%, according to the FAA. Two major milestones are used to indicate the level of implementation of the TMA - initial daily use and planned capability achieved. The former is achieved when system hardware and software are delivered and installed, and the initial group of operators are using the system and providing services to national airspace system users. The planned capability achieved milestone is met when all of the operators are using the sys tem on a regular basis. TMA is expected to result in more direct and fuel-efficient routes, contributing to smoother system opera tion and on-time airline performance. These benefits were appreciated by the judges, with one commenting: "The TMA introduces a clear infrastructure benefit which in turn has a rolling environmental benefit." Its "wide applicability in busy airspace across the world" was also acknowledged. The implementation of TMA is a result of extensive government and industry collaboration, according to the FAA, which includes the FAA Air Traffic Services, FAA Research and Acquisitions, NASA Ames, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Professional Airways Systems Specialists, Computer Sciences, Logicon and RTCA. Controller and technician involvement in every aspect of TMA implementation has resulted in faster and more-efficient problem solving and has contributed to the successful fielding of the technology. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL
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