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LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

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Kent DuffySenior Airport PlannerFederal Aviation Administrationkent.duffy@faa.gov

Airport Capacity Session

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

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Agenda

• FAA Airport Capacity Guidance• Airport Capacity and Delay AC Replacement• NextGen and Airport Capacity Planning

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FAA Airport Capacity Guidance

• Methods, approach, data sources, and coordination for capacity analysis will vary substantially with airport complexity and project scope

• Multiple FAA sources for capacity guidance:– AC 150/5070-6B Airport Master Plans– AC 150/5060-5 Airport Capacity and Delay– FAA Airport Benefit Cost Analysis Guidance– FAA JO 7110.65T Air Traffic Control– AC 150/5300 Airport Design

• Goal is to develop a capacity analysis that is reasonable, defensible, and adequate to inform project decisions

Plan for the Capacity Analysis supporting multiple needs

Master PlanCapacity Analysis

Method/Approach

BaselineCapacity

Alternatives Screening and

Selection

NEPA Noise/Emissions

Document

BCA Delay Savings

Choose an appropriate Method/Approach

Method/Approach Example Model Types

Rules of Thumb/Handbook Capacity and Delay AC

Analytical/Spreadsheets Airport Capacity Model

Airport Delay Model

Queuing Models DELAYS

Step-Event Models TAAM, SIMMOD

ADSIM, RDSIM

Human-in-the-Loop Tower Simulators

Reach consensus with Sponsor, FAA, operators, and other stakeholders in advance on approach

Reach consensus with Sponsor, FAA, operators, and other stakeholders in advance on approach

Less

More

Dat

a, le

vel o

f de

tail,

co

mpl

exity

, tim

e/co

st

Data Sources

• Operational Data– Surveillance data: FAA ASR, PDARS, airport systems (e.g., ANOMS)

– Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM) @ aspm.faa.gov• Air Carrier movements: Gate Out, Wheels Off, Wheels On, Gate In (OOOI)• ETMS, ASQP, and other sources

• ATC and Operators– Coordination with the ATCT and/or TRACON is vital, early and

throughout the project

– Airline Chief Pilots can be excellent resources

– Airline Gate Schedules

• Other– National Climatic Data Center – hourly weather observations

– Bureau of Transportation Statistics – Airline Performance/Delays/Costs

Comprehensive, detailed data sources exist to support capacity analysis

Comprehensive, detailed data sources exist to support capacity analysis

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Metrics and Limitations

• Range of potential metrics:– Annual Capacity/Annual Service Volume (ASV)– Hourly Capacity/Throughput– 15-minute demand/capacity throughput can be helpful in

examining impact of schedule peaks– Pareto curves can be useful in showing capacity ranges during

Arrival Push, Departure Push, and Mixed Operations – Average Delay and 90th or 95th Percentile Delay

• Recognize Limitations, particularly for runway-centric models– Ability of the airspace to move aircraft to/from the runway– Taxi movements, runway crossings, and gates can be significant

constraints– Weather: VFR/MVFR/IFR and Minimum Vectoring Altitude

Typical Metrics

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Key Points

• In an era of airline schedule uncertainty, evaluate demand levels not specific years

• Recognize effect of airline schedule peaks on results• ASV is a screening tool not project justification• Identifying airports as ‘congested’ or having

‘unacceptable delay’ is a moving target• Recognize limitations of data and models in interpreting

results• Be wary of inadequate analysis – there is never time to

do it right, but there is always time to do it over• Adequate coordination with ATC and operators can

substantially improve confidence in the analysis

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Capacity and Delay AC Replacement

AC 150/5060-5

Legacy150/5060-5

~1983

New AC -6~2012?

ACRP 3-17Capacity

ACRP 3-20Delay

Data Sources

NextGen Performance

Factors

NPIAS Order Update

Tech CenterDraft AC +

Rules of Thumb

Policy and Technical Guidance

Airside/Airspace Capacity and Delay Factors

NextGen: Evolution of ATC

Surveillance Based Control Where we know the aircraft is

Procedural Based Control

Where we think the aircraft is

Trajectory Based Control Where we know the aircraft

will be

• Landmark Navigation

• Radio Beacons

• Position Reports • VOR/DME

• RADAR • Performance Based Navigation

• Precise Aircraft Position

• 4DT Trajectory Based Operations

PastPastTodayToday

NextGenNextGen

Mid-Term NextGen Surveillance and Navigation Improvements

ServiceToday’s

(Legacy) ATCNextGen – Incremental Roll-Out

Airborne Surveillance

Radar • ADS-B Out• ADS-B In

• Precise aircraft position w/ADS-B out

• Traffic and Flight Information Broadcasts w/ADS-B In

Navigation VOR, DME • Area Navigation (RNAV)• Required Navigation

Performance (RNP)

• RNAV everywhere and RNP where beneficial

Instrument Approach Access

ILS, VOR • WAAS/LPV (near Cat I)• GBAS (potential Cat II/III)

• 500 LPVs per year to all qualifying runways

• GBAS can support 26 IAPs from single installation

Surface Surveillance

•Eyeball•Legacy ASDE

• ASDE-X with Data Distribution Units

• Multi-Lateration• ADS-B

• Surface Traffic Management• Surface Collaborative

Decision Making

NextGen systems provide various benefits to airports of different sizes and missions

NextGen systems provide various benefits to airports of different sizes and missions

Today’s Runway Capacity

Arrival +

Departure

Hourly C

apacity

Time

Optimum Capacity (VFR)

Reduced Capacity (IFR)

Delays

Recovery

NextGen Runway Capacity

Arrival +

Departure

Hourly C

apacity

Time

Optimum Capacity (VFR)

Reduced Capacity (IFR)

Maintain Capacity during Inclement Weather

Equivalent Visual

Operations

Mor

e pr

ecis

e m

ergi

ng a

nd

spac

ing

Reduced Separation?

Backup

NextGen is a system of systems that will provide benefits to

different sizes of Airports

Mid-Term NextGen Benefits Non-HubSmallHub

Medium & Large Hubs

Improved access with WAAS/LPV approaches

More precise surveillance with ADS-B

Improved safety and situational awareness with moving maps, TIS-B, FIS-B, and reduced runway incursions

Deconflict airspace in complex multi-airport regions with RNAV and RNP

Maintain visual capacity during inclement weather with Equivalent Visual Operations

More efficient surface movements with surveillance and Surface Trajectory Management

Enhanced flexibility in future airport development plans with revised planning standards for Closely Spaced Parallel Operations (CSPO) and NAVAIDs critical areas

Reduced environmental impact with Optimized Profile Descents and RNAV/RNP routes that are noise-sensitive

General use at Airports

Design FlexibilityDesign Flexibility

Capacity & Efficiency

Capacity & Efficiency

Access & SurveillanceAccess & Surveillance

SafetySafety

EnvironmentEnvironment

NextGen and Airport Capacity

PlanningNextGen improvements to precisely separate aircraft and redesign airspace should help airports to better maintain optimum (visual) runway throughput during most inclement weather

Several approaches to Closely Spaced Parallel Runway Operations (CSPO) that are enabled by ADS-B, RNAV/RNP, PRM-A, and new automation

– Increased use of dependent, staggered approaches can improve efficiency for runways spaced less than 2,500 feet apart using FAA Order 7110.308 criteria

– Revised blunder assumptions may lead to reductions in the runway separation needed for independent arrivals to as low as 3,000 feet with RNAV/RNP/LPV/GLS or ILS

– PRM-A may allow for independent arrivals to runways spaced as low as 2,500 feet

– In the long-term, ongoing research on paired or tandem approaches is aimed at further reducing runway spacing for simultaneous arrivals

NAVAID critical areas on the airport surface may be substantially reduced if ground-based NAVAIDS are decommissioned in favor of LPV and GLS approaches

Single RunwaySingle

Runway

GroundNAVAIDsGround

NAVAIDs

Parallel RunwaysParallel

Runways

As NextGen evolves, airport planning standards will be revised so that airports can integrate these factors

into their long-term planning

As NextGen evolves, airport planning standards will be revised so that airports can integrate these factors

into their long-term planning