Air Transportation Optimization Information Sharing for Global Benefits
% of total inefficiencies Executive Summary Is there a better way for the air transport community to resolve system inefficiencies and meet the challenges of rapidly growing demand? Imagine a solution that connects airlines, ANSPs and airports across borders in real-time. By enabling all stakeholders to share data and information, and make collaborative decisions on the spot, a simple new solution is paving the way for smarter skies. Air transport drives economic and social progress, connecting people, countries, and cultures. As the original engine for globalization, it provided access to global markets long before the internet connected people worldwide. Today, air transport continues to forge global links between developed and developing nations. The problems of air transport are often approached in silos, from the unique vantage points of individual stakeholders: airlines, ANSPs, airports, technology makers and others. As each stakeholder has their own view of what the next steps in the evolution of air transport should be, these one-dimensional viewpoints often result in similarly limited, one-dimensional benefits. By taking a more holistic view of the picture, problems and information sharing can be approached from a system-wide perspective, leading to greater shared benefits for all. Information sharing among aviation stakeholders of all types is currently inadequate to solve the problems posed by an increasingly interconnected system. While in some ways, aviation can be viewed as a highly fragmented and diverse community with a variety of interests, it s also a highly interdependent ecosystem that reaches across borders and all stakeholder types. Given the costs of current inefficiencies and the projected growth of air traffic, the technologies used today to share information are unsustainable. Ref: 2015 Harris Corporation Information Management Study
A new paradigm is needed to enable the ATM Community to operate within an information-rich environment using real-time ATM system trends and predictive data. This information, fused with a range of decision-support or decision-making tools, will enable optimization of services to airspace users. This is a stated goal of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). With that in mind, it s important to identify and address some of the problems that occur when aviation information is not shared effectively between stakeholders or systems. The Challenges of Information Sharing with Self-Focused Stakeholders Visibility into the individual operations of Airlines, Air Navigation Service Providers and Airports varies drastically. Similar to a Rubik s Cube, stakeholders often have a onesided, limited view of their airspace, without insight into the bigger picture or the consequences of their operational decisions. As a result of a fragmented air transport system, disruptions in one small corner of this ecosystem often propagate like ripples in a pond, and can impact operations throughout a region and across the world. In contrast, the applications and systems used to manage aviation remain segregated by national borders and individual stakeholders, with little to no effective communication across and between stakeholders. Because of this lack of connectedness and the breakneck speed of annual air traffic growth, optimizing the allocation of air transport resources is now more important than ever. This type of optimization, however, is particularly difficult when multiple aircraft move from one air navigation service provider to another and information sharing is inadequate. Conversely, when airspace and airport constraints from adverse weather, high demand, and other conditions are considered through processes like collaborative decision making (CDM), millions of dollars in unnecessary costs can be eliminated. EG: Data flow from information to capability In addition to inefficiency costs, the delays resulting from a lack of information sharing create a heavy environmental impact. The causes are often related to factors such as increased fuel burn and airborne holding through air traffic inefficiency; but with multiple aviation stakeholders being operationally interdependent and not adequately collaborating, it is difficult to reach the goal of reducing aviation s environmental impact.
Ref: Per minute delay cost A4A: http://airlines.org/data/per-minute-cost-of-delays-to-u-s-airlines/) Unfortunately, most of the information management solutions available cost millions to implement and millions more in annual maintenance costs. Compounding the issue, many aviation stakeholders are only planning for their information-sharing networks internally, which serves to exacerbate the problem of insufficient communication externally. In an IATA survey of the Asia Pacific region, less than 25% of nations had plans for air traffic systems that employ advanced information-sharing solutions to work across borders, with most citing high costs and a lack of standards as reasons to avoid implementation. Meanwhile, the lack of needed information exchange continues to impact stakeholders, causing lost revenue and increased costs to accrue across the aviation industry. One example of this communal effect can be seen in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. As air traffic growth at airports in those regions results in the airports rapidly approaching or exceeding capacity, and a lack of regional information sharing and ATFM solutions persist, airline growth plans are being revised mere months after contract signatures; creating some of the largest widebody aircraft cancellations in commercial jet history. Some Aviation Data Solutions in the Works A number of organizations are currently working toward information management solutions to address data silos and improve operations. ICAO, the Federal Aviation Administration, EUROCONTROL, and other groups of stakeholders are working to improve information exchange among stakeholders, but despite this progress is slow. The FAA s System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) program is providing various stakeholders, including airlines, airports, and other air navigation service providers, with access to new data through common data formatting while also
replacing costly legacy connections for data that is already being received. Similarly, EUROCONTROL s System-Wide Information Management efforts have put into place cross border information exchange through Network Manager. Both organizations are also pushing the boundaries forward on research and demonstrations through the Mini-Global and SWIM Master Class projects, respectively. Some nations are already beginning to reap the benefits of cross-border data sharing. One example can be seen in the Air Traffic Initiative between the United Kingdom and France. By enabling both air navigation service providers with the ability to share arrival and departure data and delays, they are attempting to cut in half the holding times for traffic between their nations. The benefits of this initiative are projected to yield an estimated savings of USD1.5 million and 5,000 tons of CO2 emission reductions in less than one month. As one of the regions most strongly impacted by air traffic growth, the Asia-Pacific region is also working fervently to share aviation information more effectively and efficiently. Two groups, the North Asia Regional ATFM Harmonization Group (NARAHG) and the Cross-Border Multi-Nodal ATFM Concept and Operational Trials were created with the express purpose of establishing communications links across borders in support of ATFM operations. Collaborative Aviation Data for Smarter Skies In today s global aviation ecosystem, more solutions that enable cross-border efficiency and enhanced situation awareness need to be available to industry stakeholders. The average Air Navigation Service Provider only has access to aviation information for their own airspace and even that is sometimes limited. For airports and airlines, even less information may be available. EG: Point to point information sharing vs. secure, single platform information sharing Aviation stakeholders need a solution that enables them to create predictability in operations via improved information exchange while maintaining a reliable, structured governance system. Multiple air traffic solutions currently exist to help offset air traffic growth problems, but they only work as disparate systems with specific (and often proprietary) formats that limit the ability to achieve structured information exchange. Aviation information should be available to complement and empower existing solutions. Through two-way information sharing, previously unshared flight and
operational information can be utilized to enable more informed decisions for improved operations. This practically and operationally CDM. IATA, Harris, and SkyFusion: Helping Aviation Connect Enter SkyFusion, a data-sharing tool and application platform that can enable the entire air transport community to help solve common problems in air traffic management. It provides benefits to all by giving stakeholders access to more flight information and tools. SkyFusion transforms aviation data into capabilities, by providing access to a traffic display, traffic monitor, and information system to help improve collaboration. The common issues in the air traffic community are taking a toll on Airlines, Air Navigation Service Providers, and Airports. In an effort to maximize benefits in the aviation community, IATA and Harris Corporation are partnering to develop this solution, all with a view to helping stakeholders connect by enabling cross-organization collaboration. Rather than creating collaboration solutions for a single facet of air transport, SkyFusion allows Airlines, Airports, and Air Navigation Service Providers to share data more effectively and enable their systems in a new SWIM environment. By providing better information to stakeholders, SkyFusion works to illustrate and realize the potential benefits of CDM.
Interested in helping aviation connect? SkyFusion@iata.org www.iata.org/skyfusion