With the current growth in air traffic and the resulting developments in terms of environmental issues and noise abatement, the pressure on the Area Control Center (ACC) is growing. On the one hand the Terminal Control Area (TMA) requires arriving traffic to be handed over accurately sequenced and merged, and on the other hand the ACC tries to minimize the miles flown in its sector. At the tactical level, there are Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) measures in place for traffic within Europe. However, no such tactical measures exist for traffic from the North Atlantic Tracks, increasing the probability that bunching occurs in the ACC during peak loads. By tactically predicting bunching in the sector and at the Initial Approach Fixes, a concept for debunching should be devised that focusses on airborne delay consumption and sequencing of traffic in the Upper control Areas (UTA) before it enters the Control Area (ACC), decreasing the pressure on the ACC.
Graduated: March 2022