In recent years, American Airlines teams have been working closely with the Federal Aviation istration (FAA) and NASA engineers.
The teams use the company's Control Center located at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) as a reference to develop the future not only of the airspace, but also of the management of operations on the runways and at the boarding gates.
At The Overlook, a public observation area (CLT), enthusiasts watch aircraft take off and land at the world's 7th busiest airport, which sured 553.550 departures and arrivals in 2017. The volume is considered a lot of activity for just four runways, the which makes them the perfect laboratory for the development of the next generation of Air Traffic Control (ATC), dubbed NextGen.
Kenya Golden, Chief Agent of Central Control, has been participating in the field trials. She and her teammates report on their professional experiences and provide on their activities, helping to guide the development of tools that will be used in this segment in the future.
“I never imagined that one day I would work with NASA people. Never ever. But it's been amazing. I started on the track and then came to Control Center so I had the opportunity to see the operations, as well as all the different variables to consider, from a different angle. NASA engineers paid close attention to everything we said and incorporated our contributions to create a fantastic program.”, said Kenya Golden.
Lorne Cass, vice president, Center for Integrated Operations at American, was Director of Ground Operations for the Federal Aviation istration (FAA) prior to ing American. Since then, he has been dedicated to consolidating the airline's position as a leader in modernizing ground and airspace operations. Part of this vision is reflected in the Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 – ATD-2 program (Aerospace Technology Demonstration), a five-year program that aims to optimize arrivals and departures, in addition to improving the progress of ground operations, with the aim of increase your safety and efficiency. This program is an important element of the FAA's NextGen vision for ground operations.
Current systems rely on radars. The aircraft's transponder detects the received signals and transmits a coded radio signal containing the flight information. This signal is used to move the aircraft from one sector to another. According to Lorne, the tracking of aircraft on the ground at the airport is the black hole of this system. Aircraft can spend a long time with engines running while waiting for an available gate or waiting in line to take off.
Pieces of paper containing the progress of flights are used on the ground in the Control Center to document the status of aircraft. Hut-shaped strips indicate that the plane is held at the gate. A team member must then relay this information to the track, the boarding agent and the arriving rider. It's an old system that works, but could be much more efficient.
“At peak times, we have 135 planes on the ground, which is not a lot. However, it is a real challenge to deal with that volume with the limited track space we have in Charlotte.”, said Dec Lee, vice president of American's Charlotte Hub of Operations.
“The FAA is very efficient in organizing the planes in the air and predicting the landing schedule”, said Mike Bryant, Director of Operations for the Control Center in Charlotte. “What's missing is the same kind of panorama when the planes are on the ground – from the gates to the runways”.
The new system is based on technologies that make use of GPS and satellites, incorporating data and operational knowledge in real time to all systems, thus allowing coordination between the runway, control tower, terminal and Control Center. This information provides the necessary tools for air traffic controllers to make better decisions about how to reduce congestion both in the air and on the ground.
Everyone working to get a plane from point A to point B will see the same information at the same time. The plane will no longer have to wait for an open gate, as coordination will be done before it lands. Designers will even be able to use the data to create more accurate schedules, thereby reducing the time spent maneuvering, taxiing and taking off.
With the new system, the time spent between the departure of a plane from the boarding gate and its take-off will be significantly reduced. By keeping the aircraft stationary at the boarding gates instead of waiting for takeoff on the runway with the engines running, the planes will consume less fuel. This results in less carbon dioxide emissions. Staying at the gate also allows for a greater volume of enger and baggage connections.
At the same time, advances are also being made in the aircraft themselves. In May, American announced that it will equip its entire Airbus A321 fleet with SafeRoute Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast – ADS-B.
ADS-B is a state-of-the-art tracking technology that uses data from aircraft both in the air and on the ground, and relays this information to the control tower. This data provides a more accurate picture of an aircraft's position from gate to gate. ADS-B is a critical component of NextGen, which ensures the evolution of technology from the segment of ground radars and navigation instruments to high-precision tracking tools that use satellite signals. American's fleet of Airbus A330s already have ADS-B technology.
“Our main goal is to improve the flow of aircraft by capturing instant images of everything that is happening on the ground, thus being able to better allocate the planes”Lee said. “About 80% of our engers here in Charlotte are transit engers, which means there's no time to waste securing your next flight. This system will give us the tools we need to get those connecting engers to their destination, benefiting both engers and our own employees.”.
