Air Navigation Service Providers Research Articles

Evaluation of DME network capability using combination of rule-based model and gradient boosting regression

The future development of aeronautical navigation foresees an infrastructure rationalization of radionavigation aids with the aim of maintaining only the Minimum Operational Network, which brings benefits in terms of operational cost savings, promotes sustainability and optimal use of the radio spectrum. To ensure that the necessary navigation performance is preserved, the Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) plays a significant role, as DME/DME navigation is a short-term contingency solution when Global Navigation Satellite System is unavailable. Therefore, new DME ground stations are put into operation even though other navigation aids are being decommissioned at the same time. This paper addresses a question of possible DME network rationalization by developing a software model using a combination of a rule-based model, approximating of airborne DME interrogators interacting with DME ground transponders, with the implementation of the Gradient Boosting Regression to predict load of DME ground stations. The model is validated by comparing the results with the real load data obtained from an Air Navigation Service Provider. Several test cases are performed to evaluate the capability of the European DME network, simulating a reduction in the number of en-route DME stations and increases in air traffic using clustering methods. The results show that the ground station load limit was rarely reached, demonstrating the robustness and the potential for rationalization of the DME infrastructure.

ATM strategies for, and impacts of, space launches

There is a rapid growth of national space launch ambitions and capabilities, e.g. delivering satellites into low-earth and sun-synchronous orbits. With vertical and horizontal delivery methods, and numerous locations under consideration in several continents, the industry has faced early challenges, such as failed launches and licencing timescales. This paper explores the increasing intersection between aviation and air traffic management (ATM) with higher airspace operations (HAOs). It introduces the background and principles of space launches, before addressing the particular impacts on aviation and ATM. The strategic challenges of planning launch windows to align both with orbiting asset congestion and ATM demands, plus promulgating such information to airspace users, is discussed. In the tactical phase, the consequences of impacts on airspace users (such as the re-routing of flights) and on air navigation service providers (such as the demands of coordinating airspace closures in the context of considerable re-entry/splashdown uncertainty) are discussed. A key contribution we make in this paper is the first aircraft-specific, fuel and operating cost analysis of HAO impacts, and the first such European cost assessment, with basic impact geometries. We also propose improved aircraft-specific impact models, which include passenger-centric costs.

An agent-based model for technology adoption in Air Traffic Management

Technology adoption depends not only on the development of new technologies, but also on the existence of regulations able to foster the implementation of such technologies. To facilitate the exploration of different policy options aimed at accelerating the adoption of new Air Traffic Management (ATM) technologies, an agent-based model that represents the behaviour of the European ATM system has been developed. This model includes representations of the main stakeholders in the ATM ecosystem: regulatory bodies, technology providers, labour unions and technology adopters, including Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), airlines and airports. New ATM technologies, policies imposed, behavioural biases (e.g., loss aversion) and exogenous variables (e.g., fuel price) drive the actions of the agents, leading to the emergent global behaviour of the system. A calibration and validation process involving historical data, gaming experiments and participatory simulations was performed. The model was used to evaluate various policies that included economic incentives and penalties in two scenarios: one based on past events and another focused on the future. The results allow us to analyse which individual stakeholders benefit the most from each policy and to identify the mechanisms that emerge and drive the path of technology adoption, finding that a combination of economic incentives and penalties provides promising economical and operational results.

Temporary Standard Operating Procedure Design about Medical Evacuation Helicopter from Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit to General Hospital of West Nusa Tenggara Province

This research was conducted based on the discovery of a hazard that arose due to the flight path of the medical evacuation helicopter from the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit to the General Hospital of West Nusa Tenggara Province. This research was conducted at Lombok Branch Office of Indonesian Air Navigation Service Provider, AirNav Indonesia, from September to December 2022. It was carried out using qualitative research methodology which is observation. The data and facts was processed using descriptive analysis. Based on the analysis of the data obtained, author concluded that a temporary standard operating procedure regarding medical evacuation helicopter is required and the author has come up with one.

Efficiency assessment in European air traffic management—A fundamental analysis of data, models, and methods

The European air traffic management system is characterized by its dynamic and diverse nature. To effectively address future challenges, it is crucial to enhance efficiency and resilience within the system. As an integral part of the air traffic system, air navigation services operate as natural monopolies and are subject to regulatory measures. While operational and academic studies regularly address performance benchmarking, no comparative analysis is currently evaluates the different approaches. This paper introduces a fundamental analysis for evaluating the technical efficiency of air traffic control at the air navigation service provider (ANSP) level. Our research encompasses the development of an economic model, the application of various analytical methods, and the careful selection of units for evaluation. Our findings demonstrate that the standard Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is highly effective. Additionally, we emphasize that not all ANSPs shall be included in the analysis, and we caution against incorporating monetary inputs and outputs in the model.

Estimating the Volatility of Flights and Risk of Saturation of Airspaces in the European Core Area: A Methodological Proposal

Despite having some fluctuations and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the demand for flights had a general growing trend for the past years. As the airspace is limited, efforts to better manage the total number of flights are noteworthy. In addition, volatility (i.e., unpredicted changes) in the number of flights has been observed to be increasing. Efforts to improve flight forecasting are thus necessary to improve air traffic efficiency and reduce costs. In this study, volatility in the number of flights is estimated based on past trends, and the outcomes are used to project future levels. This enables risk situations such as having to manage unexpectedly high numbers of flights to be predicted. The methodological approach analyses the Functional Airspace Block of Central Europe (FABEC). Based on the number of flights for 2015–2019, the following are calculated: historic mean, variance, volatility, 95th percentile, flights per hour and flights per day of the week in different time zones in six countries. Due to the nature of air traffic and the overdispersion observed, this study uses counting data models such as negative binomial regressions. This makes it possible to calculate risk measures including expected shortfall (ES) and value at risk (VaR), showing for each hour that the number of flights can exceed planned levels by a certain number. The study finds that in Germany and Belgium at 13:00 h there is a 5% worst-case possibility of having averages of 683 and 246 flights, respectively. The method proposed is useful for planning under uncertainties. It is conducive to efficient airspace management, so risk indicators help Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to plan for low-probability situations in which there may be large numbers of flights.

Rostering of air traffic controllers – current practices in Europe, key performance trade-offs and future opportunities

The process of staff planning and rostering is one of the key factors affecting the performance of an Air Navigation Service Provider in terms of capacity and cost-efficiency delivered to airspace users. This paper gives a summary of previous works and current rostering practices applied at Area Control Centres (ACCs) in Europe. Furthermore, it identifies key trade-offs between rostering flexibility, capacity and productivity by establishing a relationship between ACC demand, rostering flexibility in place and the number of Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) needed, as well as by exploring how varying rostering practices applied in ACCs affect spare capacity in the system. To that end, an initial mathematical model for optimizing ATCO staffing requirements has been proposed and tested on a case study involving three representative ACCs, reflecting different hourly variability in demand. The results suggest that - for different combinations of shift patterns and capacity profiles - substantial variation exists in both the minimum number of ATCOs and the associated spare ACC capacity. It has also been shown that a certain amount of spare capacity is inevitably present in the system due to inability to perfectly match ATCO hours with demand. Different options and enablers for exploiting such capacity are also discussed in the paper.

A quasi-dynamic air traffic assignment model for mitigating air traffic complexity and congestion for high-density UAM operations

In spite of the significant effects of COVID-19, UAM operations are still expected to grow smoothly and healthily in the near future. If such dense UAM traffic relies on tactical planning to resolve conflicts in a decentralized control scheme, urban airspace could soon be heavily congested and airspace complexity could be overwhelming. In this paper, we propose a Quasi-dynamic Air Traffic Assignment (QATA) model, which aims to allocate traffic flows among air routes in the planning horizon in order to organize UAM traffic flows and reduce air traffic congestion and complexity within a centralized strategic planning scheme while meeting the demand and respecting some criteria. Firstly, UAM traffics are modeled as flows that operate on a 3D two-way UAM route network. Next, the QATA problem is formulated as an optimization problem involving network dynamics to minimize the air traffic complexity evaluated by the linear dynamical system and congestion defined by traffic density and energy consumption. A simulation-based rolling horizon framework is introduced to decompose the QATA problem into several modified static air traffic assignment problems in each time interval. In order to overcome the limitations of conventional dynamic traffic assignment algorithms, a simulated annealing algorithm using parallel computing and a novel neighborhood generation strategy is proposed to efficiently optimize the problem. By applying the model to a pre-designed large-scale UAM route network in Singapore’s urban airspace, Experimental studies demonstrate the performance of the proposed framework and its applicability. Parallel computing can achieve up to three times faster than the original algorithm. The proposed algorithm significantly reduces the value of the objective function by (32.20±0.29)% in 143.47±3.74 seconds at the 95% confidence interval of 100 experiments, far better compared to the representative conventional dynamic traffic assignment algorithms. This study could be useful to assist air traffic control authorities and air navigation service providers in addressing various issues in unmanned traffic management.

Analysis of The Performance Model of Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) at Airnav Indonesia Balikpapan Branch

As professionals who ensure the safe and efficient operation of air navigation in a specific air space, Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) shall possess maximum performance since their responsibility is related to the safety of many human lives. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors affecting the behavior of the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) performance model on duty at Airnav Indonesia branch Balikpapan. This research is quantitative and explorative research conducted on all populations of 38 active ATC working in air navigation service provider (ANSP) in Airnav Indonesia Balikpapan for six months from March to August 2022. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 38 respondents and conducting 38 interviews. The results demonstrate that Compensation has a positive and significant effect on performance, Competence moderates the relationship between compensation and performance in a positive and significant way, Compensation has a significant positive effect on Employee Engagement, Career Development has a significant positive effect on Employee engagement, Employee engagement has a significant positive effect on performance, and Employee Engagement as a mediating variable that has a significant positive effect on career development and performance. The implications of the findings of this study as a reference for future policy development and human resource development at Airnav Indonesia Balikpapan, in order to improve the quality of air traffic services and flight safety.

ANSPs in Turbulent Times - Uncovering the Impact of Demand Shocks on Efficiency Using the Malmquist Index

Global and local shocks such as COVID-19 or the Russian attack on Ukraine have influenced European air transport, and other shocks will appear in the future. The subsequent traffic shifts affect one bottleneck candidate of the system: the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP). In this paper, we apply productivity metrics and Malmquist Data Envelopment Analysis to examine how the ANSP related performance of the air transport system has changed between 2008 and 2020. By considering different levels of granularity we demonstrate the tremendous influence that shocks may have on demand figures and, subsequently, on performance metrics. As an example we show that the Corona pandemic had disparate impacts on various units, resulting in notable efficiency losses in 2020, however, with a strong variation between ANSPs. The findings of our study can be utilized in a subsequent root-cause analysis to quantify the impacts of both endogenous and exogenous factors on performance. This in turn will provide valuable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders in managing air transport during and after such shocks, and to create a more resilient air traffic management system.

SBAS-based navigation system for precision approach in CAT II LVC

Due to lack of advanced navigation systems, secondary airports are normally unable to support instrument approaches in low visibility conditions (LVC) more adverse than Category (CAT) I, making them inaccessible during such conditions. Incoming flights are then delayed, diverted to adjacent airports, or cancelled before take-off. This paper presents an onboard navigation solution, under development in scope of SESAR 2020 Solution PJ02-W2- 17.2, which focuses on technology development to mitigate these traffic disruptions by enabling instrument approaches in CAT II LVC with minimum airport and air navigation service provider investments. The concept builds upon global navigation satellite systems (Global Positioning System L1 frequency – GPS L1, satellite-based augmentation system), which currently enables Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) operation down to LPV 200 minima. The designed system includes radio altimeter-based aiding and innovative integrity algorithm to improve navigation performance in support of operations below 200ft down to CAT II / LPV 100 minima. As no such requirements have yet been officially published, authors also defined sets of candidates based on Instrument Landing System Collision Risk Model and other sources. The team developed and verified a Monte-Carlo fast-time simulation toolset to enable representative and statistically significant evaluation of the concept feasibility via its availability throughout Europe, as well as sensitivity to proposed sets of alert limits. Also, flight data collection and a developed software prototype allow for further validations. Simulations demonstrated over 95% average availability with the best results achieving level of 99% depending on used set of requirements. The solution enabling operations in LVC allows unlocking various benefits to business/airline operators (e.g., avoided extra costs, increased predictability), passengers (avoided opportunity loss) and airports (retained profit from flights, less traffic at diversion airports). Technology development also marks an important step towards gate-to-gate autonomous operations.

A Profitability Analysis of Air Navigation Service Providers in European Zone: COVID-19 Crisis

The civil aviation sector is important for the logistics system. Besides, Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) are one of the main parts of the total civil aviation system. This study is about their profitability structure and assessment of performance. Out of the general and classical ratios such as ROA and ROE, authors utilized 13 different profitability ratios to understand the general picture of ANSP in the context of profitability performance by using GRA and MABAC methods. Analysis were made for 34 airport service providers from different countries with annual data between 2017 and 2020. The findings show that COVID-19 crisis has got a deep impact on ANSP’s profitability structures in general and by firms. Besides it is seen that the most profitable companies are Turkish, Georgian and Estonian ANSP.

Using Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) Network to Improved Aviation Industry Service Quality

The airport collaborative decision-making (A-CDM) network brings together airports, airlines, and air navigation service providers to share timely and accurate information in order to facilitate optimal decision-making, plan operations and improve air traffic management. Research found that aviation service quality can be improved by integrating the A-CDM network and SERVQUAL together with Kano’s model to enhance service quality and improve network operational efficiency. The theory and methods of the A-CDM network combined with information technology and process innovation can maximise the serviceability of the aviation industry to improve network operation at the airport concerned.

Split incentive problem in the uptake of new ATM technology

We analyse the problem of split incentives between Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) and airlines in adopting disruptive technologies. We develop a theoretical model allowing us to analyse the uptake of technologies based on the potential efficiency gains of both the ANSP and the airlines. Next, we illustrate this model numerically. Our first, intuitive, result is that while regulation of navigation fees is necessary, it also hinders the investments in new technologies. Secondly, we see that the uptake of technologies would be faster in a one-to-one setting. Thirdly, it is not certain that increased competition between ANSPs will stimulate innovation. Finally, an overall technological mandate can be welfare improving as it reduces uncertainty.

Strategic planning and development of Air Traffic Management system in Europe: A capacity-based review

Nowadays there may be different strategic drivers between Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) in Europe. However, far less than before market deregulation and liberalization, and before 2004 when European Commission (EC) established Single European Sky (SES) initiative. The introduction of two SES regulative packages and the European ATM Master Plan imposed the obligation to the ANSPs in Europe to strive for common strategic goals - articulated in terms of Key Performance Areas (KPA): capacity, safety, environment and cost-efficiency. All the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of listed KPAs are based on the adoption of the one-size-fits-all principle. In that respect, this paper evaluates conceptual and methodological assumptions of strategic planning and development framework of the ATM systems in Europe from a capacitive viewpoint. It provides a review of flaws identified by studying the applicability of the performance target defined by EC for capacity as one of four KPAs. As such, in a concise review, the paper reveals shortcomings of conceptual and methodological assumptions, performance differences and gaps, their implications, ANSPs with under-defined and above-defined performance targets, i.e., strategic goals from a capacitive viewpoint and points out flaws that need to be revised to better reflect settings of the ATM system in Europe.

Costs for passengers and airlines due to the significant delays and other irregularities at European airports in the 2022 summer season

In the 2022 summer season, severe flight delays, lost luggage and other irregularities were recorded at a number of European airports. Staff cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, a fairly strong recovery in the aviation sector in 2022 and resulting staff shortages were identified as the main causes. However, some airports (e.g. in Southern Germany) appear to have managed these problems better than others. Such severe delays and other irregularities in air transport cause economic damage for different stakeholders, especially for airport operators, airlines, the (federal) police, ANSPs (air navigation service providers), ground-handling and security service companies, as well as for the travelers themselves. In this paper we evaluate the key causes for, and economic effects of the recorded irregularities for the passengers and airlines. As a first step, literature on the economic impact of delays in air transport is analyzed. In a second step, available data is used to quantify the delay situation in the summer period of 2022 for selected flight routes and airports. After this, the value of time damage is estimated for flight passengers based on the selected flights. This is complemented by a delay cost estimation for the airlines serving the affected airports. The paper closes with recommendations for improvement.

New perspectives on spatial and temporal aspects of aircraft noise: Dynamic noise maps for Heathrow airport

This paper presents findings from the H2020 ANIMA project which sought to develop new methodologies, approaches and tools to manage aviation noise impact. Specifically, the work reported here focuses on Heathrow Airport and sought to understand how the consideration of people's daily movements could inform measures of exposure to aircraft noise. By using travel data to reflect human mobility over space and time, a more realistic picture of where people are located throughout the day, and the sound levels they experience at these locations, can give more nuanced understanding of aircraft noise exposure. The study showed that this dynamic approach to mapping noise helps develop greater knowledge of who is exposed to aircraft noise, where they are exposed and when. The research found that, through dynamic mapping, the total number of people estimated to be highly annoyed by aircraft noise increased by 10.9% compared to contour-based mapping using only census data. The implication here is that people spend more time during the day in the areas most affected by aircraft noise, while there are fewer people in less affected areas around the airport. The findings take the science of sound exposure forward as they build on the information that traditional, static noise contours can offer (where the assumption is made that people are located at their residence over all hours of the day and thus exposed to the sound at that location) by better capturing levels of sound exposure as people go about their daily lives, both near an airport and beyond. This approach has applications for airports, air navigation service providers, policymakers and legislators. Ultimately, it can contribute to improved sound experience for people and communities near airports.

Impact of Covid-19 on the Aviation Industry: An Overview of Global and Some Local Effects

The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily paralysed demand for air travel causing long-term implications for all industry stakeholders involved. Nobody was spared, and without government support, many airlines, airports and air navigation service providers (ANSP), would have gone out of business already in the first year of the pandemic. In order to assess the global impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry, this paper reviewed data from publications by various international aviation organizations, academic papers, and annual reports by airlines, airports and ANSPs, etc. The findings show that the global aviation industry was severely hit by the pandemic, pushing all stakeholders to adopt countermeasures, with the most common response by airlines being the reconfiguring their networks and capacity or switching to cargo operations, airports and other operators reacted by reducing staff numbers, while passengers had to adapt to the new travel rules and the new normality.

Identifying Merger Opportunities: The Case of Air Traffic Control

In “Identifying Merger Opportunities: The Case of Air Traffic Control,” N. Adler, O. Olesen, and N. Volta propose a model to identify an optimal horizontal merger configuration at the level of an industry or firm with multiple branches. Assuming that each firm operates within a catchment area or owns part of a network, we extend the model to consider feasible mergers that cover a contiguous area, should network effects be a consideration. An application to the European air traffic control system suggests that four contiguous air navigation service providers should replace the current 29 providers and the nine functional airspace blocks proposed in the Single European Skies initiative. The technological developments in air traffic management in which regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have invested heavily, namely SESAR and NextGen, are unlikely to be used without a concomitant reduction in operating costs through economies of scale. We find that the politically oriented solution may save around one third of current costs, but an optimal solution will save closer to 46%.

Zarządzanie ruchem lotniczym w polityce lotniczej Unii Europejskiej

For over two decades, the European Union and its Member States have been working towards a creation of the Single European Sky (SES), which is an ambitious programme to upgrade the air traffic management (ATM) system. The rationale behind initiating legislation and research and development activities in this field in 2000 was to reduce the existing fragmentation of the ATM sector between States, civil and military air navigation service providers and technical systems in use. Consequently, the launch of the SES initiative by the European Commission caused that issues of the ATM were incorporated into the scope of the EU aviation policy. The aim of this article is to present the progress made so far in the creation of the Single European Sky, given the issues resulting mainly from supranational character of the EU actions. The author analysed the ongoing changes in the priorities of the SES initiative, as well as the failures encountered in meeting the political goals of this complex endeavour, which will determine the future of the air traffic management in Europe.