In the last decades, air transport has become more accessible and the demand is increasingly growing over the years. Airports and airspace are becoming congested and have to handle a very high volume of flights, therefore facing the need to increase their capacity and constantly improve their operational system. The major challenge for airport stakeholders in those situations close to saturation is to achieve maximum operational efficiency and predictability, together with improved capacity and cost efficiencies. Nevertheless, airport partners often work in a divided and isolated manner, operating independent systems, and this lack of common situational awareness can lead to widespread dysfunctions and inefficiencies. Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) is a solution within the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) programme, promoted by EUROCONTROL, ACI-Europe, IATA and CANSO, that aims to improve the operational efficiency and predictability of airports, enhance traffic flow management and reduce congestion by making more efficient use of existing capacity and resources. These objectives are achieved by encouraging airport stakeholders to work together in a transparent and collaborative manner, through the exchange of timely and accurate information. This project aims to explain the A-CDM concept and its complete implementation process at an airport. Further, an assessment of the current status of A-CDM at Zurich and Amsterdam-Schiphol airports and an analysis of the implementation process has been conducted. Moreover, in order to evaluate the possibility of expanding the concept to nonEuropean airports, the case of Mexico City airport, where the implementation attempt was not successful, has been also analysed. Finally, the existing and future systems that complement or continue the implementation of the A-CDM has been studied. This study has been conducted on the basis of information provided by the Head of Flight OPS Engineering at Zurich airport, an interview with the A-CDM Process Manager at Amsterdam-Schiphol, and a series of interviews with a consultant who was in charge of the implementation at Mexico airport. The main conclusions drawn are that A-CDM brings many quantitative and qualitative benefits in managing the turnaround process, predictability, reduction of taxi time, emissions and delay reduction, among many others. Nevertheless, it is a complex process that requires a lot of collaboration and knowledge in procedures, and in some cases, a lot of time and investments. It is therefore very important to evaluate the decision of implementation taking into account the congestion and capacity levels of the airport. It has also been concluded that European airports have both technological and cultural advantages for CDM implementation, therefore, at present, they are the most favourable to be A-CDM airports. Furthermore, it was found that A-CDM, despite being a standardised Eurocontrol process, has a strong local factor and adapts to the conditions and needs of each particular airport.
gmail.com
