A functional analysis of integrated arrival, departure, and surface operations in NextGen

Abstract

This paper presents a functional analysis of a concept for Integrated Arrival, Departure, and Surface (IADS) operations. The IADS concept originates from the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Concept of Operations for the Mid-Term. The NextGen MidTerm concept envisions integrated arrival, departure, and surface operations with the goal of providing a more predictable and efficient treatment of arrival and departure aircraft through terminal airspace and the airport surface [1]. A key piece of the IADS concept described in this paper is the development of a consistent, up-to-date, and integrated schedule of arrival and departure aircraft. The integrated schedule would define crossing times for points within the arrival or departure airspace, and also for certain locations on the airport surface. The development and use of an integrated schedule is expected to reduce the occurrences of delay by keeping departure queues as small and efficient as possible, while meeting meter fix times more accurately. It would also allow air carriers to absorb delay at the gate, rather on the airport surface. Another important piece of the IADS concept is the sharing of information pertaining to operations such as surface movement data that can be used to conduct integrated operations and also to refine and update the integrated schedule. The resulting operations will produce better all-around use of resources and better flow of arrivals and departures. This paper provides a brief description of current arrival, departure, and surface operations, and identifies shortfalls that define the mission need for IADS. A brief overview of future operations defined by the IADS concept is also provided, followed by the high level functional analysis. The functional analysis identifies major functions for IADS organized into a functional hierarchy. A data model for data exchanged in IADS is provided that is used to define Enhanced Functional Flow Block Diagrams (EFFBDs) for IADS This paper concludes by identifying other concepts and areas for additional research related to IADS. This work is intended to help with high-level requirements definition to help guide associated research, and as input into Enterprise Architecture (EA) modeling.