May 20 became a historic date for the Brazilian Air Force, the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA) and the Southeast Regional Airspace Control Center (CRCEA-SE).
On that day, the TMA-SP Neo Project: Restructuring of the Terminal Control Area (TMA) São Paulo officially started operating. The project integrates the SIRIUS Brazil Program, which deals with the evolution strategy of the Brazilian Air Traffic Management System (ATM), under the responsibility of DECEA.
The first flight to inaugurate the new procedure for Guarulhos Airport was an aircraft from Azul Linhas Aéreas (AZU2014), at 4:23 UTC, 01:23 am Brasília time, using the Point Merge System, a method that aims to optimize the sequencing of aircraft in descent for landing, especially in times of high demand. This is the biggest airport in the country in volume of air traffic, with more than 24 thousand flights per month.
It works like this: aircraft enter through two arcs, separated by 1.000 feet. Each one, at an appropriate moment, goes to a point of convergence – the point merge, proceeding later for landing. Used in some countries around the world, the method will be applied to aircraft accessing Terminal São Paulo.
But it wasn't just Terminal São Paulo that went through modifications. The Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Pirassununga (YS), Curitiba (CT), Florianópolis (FL) and Porto Alegre (PA) TMAs were adapted to serve the new circulation in São Paulo. For example, it should be noted that the area of the Rio-São Paulo Air Bridge will be under the jurisdiction of the Rio de Janeiro Approach Control (APP-RJ).
The first movement was accompanied at the APP-SP, in São Paulo, by the Head of the Operations Subdepartment (SDOP) of DECEA, Air Brigadier Eduardo Miguel Soares, by the Commander of CRCEA-SE, Colonel Aviador Chrystian Alex Scherk Ciccacio, by the Director of Instituto de Cartografia Aeronáutica (ICA), Colonel Engineer Alessander de Andrade Santoro, by the manager of the TMA-SP Neo Project, Major Aviator Sergio Luiz Marques Malecka, in addition to many other military personnel who dedicated approximately three years to this achievement.
According to Brigadeiro Miguel, the main gain will be in balancing the sectors of Terminal São Paulo, which will reflect in the increase in air flow capacity. The Chief of SDOP also drew attention to the new concept that is being applied for the first time in Brazil: the point merge.
“This procedure allows the aircraft to reduce the need to make the usual waits and this allows the pilot to gain time and make the approach more quickly, optimizing the flow of movements approaching Guarulhos”, said Brigadier Miguel.
The implementation was divided into two phases. The first, transitional, began the day before 00:00 UTC, 21:XNUMX local time, with the entry of the new AIRAC cycle (Regulation and Control of Aeronautical Information) – an international and permanent calendar, established by the Civil Aviation Organization International (ICAO), which fixes the dates for the release of data or changes related to air navigation infrastructure, as well as new flight procedures.
For four hours, certain procedures from the previous air circulation continued to be used so that the exchange for the new one could be made at a more appropriate time, with low demand, at 04:00 UTC (01:20 local time) on the XNUMXth, according to forecasts by the Center for Air Navigation Management (CGNA). The challenges of this phase were well known.
Major Malecka says that, despite the need for manual corrections in several flight plans, everyone was prepared and the teams reinforced to absorb the high demand: “The complications were minimal, considering the reality of implementing a project of this magnitude”.
After this deadline, at 04:00 UTC (01:XNUMX local time), the TMA-SP Neo Project was officially implemented.
“We were proud of the result. The transition went quite smoothly. In the moments of greatest demand, right after the changeover, between 6 am and 7 am, the controllers were able to put into practice all the training they had received in the simulation laboratory at the Instituto de Controle do Espaço Aéreo (ICEA). The excellent performance of the entire team validates the planning work done from the beginning”, said Major Malecka.
For Colonel Santoro, success in implementation was expected since, in all the work carried out, what is aimed at is the improvement of airspace for service s.
“There are few countries in the world that have the capacity, knowledge or conditions to carry out a project like the one we are carrying out in Brazilian airspace”, clarifies the director of ICA.
Colonel Santoro also highlighted that the development structure of the Brazilian Airspace Control System (SISCEAB) allows the use of the main means for efficiently coordinating air traffic control: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this beautiful work that was done. In the future we will meet again to improve our processes because we want and can improve”.
Benefits
The remodeling of Terminal São Paulo has as its main objective the increase of capacity and, therefore, the reduction of waits in the sequencing of aircraft in descent and, also, of delays, related to the capacity of the airspace.
And, consequently, favor the reduction of fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, in addition to attenuating the emission of aeronautical noise in the surroundings of airports. The improvements achieved also make it possible to reduce the workload of pilots and controllers.
The Head of SDOP explained that Terminal São Paulo will be prepared for the next ten years, in of an increase of up to 10% in the capacity of air movements: "This will allow for better flow, especially in times of high demand".
Responsible for the inaugural communication of the point merge with the Azul aircraft, Second Sergeant Rafael Mariano dos Santos, ensured that, with the TMA SP-Neo, there was a balance between the entry sectors of Guarulhos with options to the Northeast, Northwest and Southwest: “The changes bring efficiency and, consequently, it becomes possible to control more aircraft at the same time”.
With the entry into operation of the TMA-SP Neo, the nomenclature of the RNAV (air navigation) procedures was updated - the approach trajectory in which they are followed Waypoints, previously defined, terminology that is advocated by the ICAO.
“The procedures that until then were called RNAV are now called RNP – Performance Based Navigation (PBN) – which allows an aircraft to fly a specific trajectory between two three-dimensionally defined points in space”, completed Sergeant Mariano.
Genesis
The TMA SP-Neo project had several planning phases, starting in 2017, with a schedule for execution and the definition of operational and technical actions. The first phase was the analysis of documents that would allow the development of something tangible for the airspace, which concentrates the largest traffic flow in the country, TMA São Paulo.
A survey was also carried out with air traffic controllers (ATCO) and pilots to the opinion of those involved in the process. The strategic, tactical and operational plan brought together, in addition to the SDOP, the CRCEA-SE – at the time São Paulo Regional Flight Protection Service (SRPV-SP), the Integrated Centers for Air Defense and Air Traffic Control (CINDACTA I, in Brasília; CINDACTA II – in Curitiba), the Air Navigation Management Center (CGNA) and the ICA.
Next, a prognosis was made in an accelerated time simulator for modeling routes and airports to identify needs and improvements. This cycle was essential for the experience and skill of the ATCOs to serve as a basis for airspace developers to improve the busiest terminal in the country.
The next step was the real-time simulation exercise (STR), when, once again, the controllers participated in the process with suggestions and/or modifications. The objective was to adapt the ATCOs to the new circulation.
The next stage was the production of charts of air navigation procedures, to start the training schedule, which all controllers in the areas where the circulation was changed went through: TMA Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Pirassununga (YS), Curitiba ( CT), Florianópolis (FL) and Porto Alegre (PA). There were 213 aeronautical charts, validated in flight by the Special Group for Inspection in Flight (GEIV), to guarantee the correctness and quality of the publications.
The training activity started with the launch of the new exercise paths. During this process, it was observed that the ATCOs used less radio communication and, as a result, there was a decrease in the workload and, consequently, an increase in the capacity of the sectors.
From the beginning, the work was guided by Collaborative Decision Making (CDM). At this stage, professionals flight standard of the airlines – pilots responsible for instruction, standardization and operational doctrine of the airlines – made follow-up visits to the training and simulation process of the new circulation. Operational doctrine was developed with the knowledge of all the people involved.
For Colonel Ciccacio, there was good planning, even if the schedule was extensive and permeated with sub-stages - of enormous importance -, but, with the participation of several stakeholders, such as the Brazilian Airlines Association (ABEAR), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines, airports and pilot associations.
“They not only made suggestions, but validated the project in a simulator. In the case of the partners, IATA brought an experienced terminal designer (who was from the FAA – Federal Aviation istration) to teach a workshop with the technicians of the new terminal. Walter White is one of the best design technicians and today he consults all over the world”He explained.
Finally, the CRCEA-SE Commander said: “I am proud to have participated in such a well-planned project, which involved the entire aeronautical community and which, for sure, will bring good results. After the implementation, it is only up to us to congratulate everyone involved and, particularly, the manager who started the project, Lieutenant Colonel Aviador Robson Laube Roque Moreira, and the current one, Major Malecka, without forgetting the provided by the former heads of the SDOP, Major -Air Brigadier Luiz Ricardo de Souza Nascimento, Air Brigadier Major Fernando César da Costa e Silva Braga and Air Brigadier Ary Rodrigues Bertolino. I also emphasize that we cannot fail to persevere in the pursuit of continuous improvement at SISCEAB”.
