Air Traffic Management Concept Baseline Definition - The Boeing ...

Issue # 2: Some Limitations of Future Air Traffic Management and Concepts
• Capacity constraints in free flight systems will be restricted by runway operating time.
with the aircraft and runways in place today, it is conceivably possible to land or takeoff at
55 second intervals from a single runway. However, this is constrained by procedures that
at most airports, limit an arrival or departure to an interval of 90 to 120 seconds causing a
significant portion of the runway resource to be wasted. [Ref. 9, page 2-117] (O)
• For automation to be effective and satisfy minimum safety standards, it must meet the
needs of all system users. Flight crews have always benefited from HF attention, while
much less consideration has been given to HF aspects of ATC. With increased automation,
routine functions change from controlling to monitoring the systems. This alters the
demands placed on the controller. Monitoring is not the best function for most humans
because it tends to become monotonous and boring which leads to difficulties maintaining
an adequate state of alertness and awareness. [Ref. 9, page 3-18] (T), (O), (H)
• The issue of national and regional security is of fundamental concern to the design of
effective dual-use airspace and to policies and procedures that will permit the smooth and
instantaneous subjugation of airspace to the military in case of a national security threat.
satellite CNS poses some unique and challenging issues to ATC/ATM planners in this
regard. While it has been determined that surveillance is accurately performed by satellite
navigation augmented by ADS, it is not reasonable to assume that hostile aircraft will
cooperate. Some form of radar surveillance will be required and will be present in the
modernized ATC/ATM environment of the developed or developing country. During
peace time, the issue of special use airspace for training or exclusion zone purposes will
also complicate matters. [Ref. 9, page 2-134] (S), (T)
• The hundreds of billions of dollars needed for all categories of infrastructure including
ATC/ATM systems, airports, and feeder roads will compete largely in capital markets with
funds required for new aircraft. If government is a financial contributor to these
modernizations, lengthy delays can be expected, as most governments, LDCs or DCs, are
cash strapped...the most likely scenario unfolding will be the corporatization or
privatization of much of the ATC/ATM infrastructure. Government backed bond funding
can occur in a cycle tied to needs, as opposed to political agendas. [Ref. 9, page 2-29] (E)
• Internationally, several ICAO member states have been vocal in their reluctance to
accept a GPS-based satellite navigation system, primarily because GPS is U.S.-owned
system currently managed by the DOD. The international community has repeatedly
expressed concern that the United States may unilaterally decode to intentionally degrade
the current GPS-SPS accuracy or “dither” the SA signal at such a high rate so as to
preclude adequate precision guidance. This issue takes on additional significance when
member states begin to maintain transportation infrastructures that rely completely on
satellite-based navigation. From a European perspective, this apprehension has
understandably diminished a willingness to implement a GPS-based satellite navigation
system for critical safety and life operations. [Ref. 9, page 3-94-95] (S), (T)
• Although ATC is in principal an exercise in safety, it is also a means by which states can
control the sovereignty of their airspace as well as access to their economies. In recent
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