4D trajectory management using contract of objectives

Abstract

Contract of Objectives (CoO) has been designed in the context of trajectory-based Air Traffic Management (ATM), using mutually agreed objectives between Air Traffic Control (ATC), airlines and airports. This paper provides an overview of the assessment of CoO and discusses the results of the three human-in-the-loop (HIL) evaluations of the concept of operations. Measurements were collected and analysed on system performance (i.e. safety, efficiency and capacity) and human performance (i.e. workload, situation awareness and acceptability) for the human actors involved. Findings indicate that controllers and pilots are positive about the concept of operations, and that they agree on the principle of flying what was “planned, agreed and negotiated” during the planning phase, as opposed to the current “first come, first served” approach. The renegotiation of CoO was assessed as manageable, even with a 2020 traffic load, without any impact on safety. They all recognise that implementation of CoO increases the collaboration between crew and ground, as they share not only the same data but also the same robust objective all through the flight, i.e. the objective determined at strategic level through a collaborative decision-making process (CDM). Some improvements are still needed regarding the HMI and the generation of Target Windows (TWs). The airport and airline operators, as well as the network manager, considered CoO renegotiation to be feasible and acceptable. They were interested in the CDM process proposed. They found the principle of sharing the operational data of other actors to be a great improvement in the way choices are made and validated.