Assessing Relation between Performance of Schedule-Based Arrival Operation and Schedule Nonconformance

Abstract

NASA’s precision scheduling and spacing technology can effectively enable PerformanceBased Navigation arrival operation in the terminal area during periods of high traffic demand. An automation-calculated scheduling drives this technology, which supports controllers to sequence, space, and merge arrivals. This paper assesses the relation between schedule nonconformance and performance of the schedule-based terminal area arrival operation. To perform the assessment, a schedule nonconformance metric that is based on the time history of aircraft’s schedule conformance error is introduced. Then, the relationship between this metric and arrival operation performance parameters are examined. The analysis indicates that the magnitude of schedule nonconformance is related to a longer arrival makespan, extra track distance flown, and increase in controller workload.