Airport Collaborative Decision-Making in Adverse Conditions
Airport-collaborative decision-making certificate granted to several European airports
Airport Collaborative Decision-Making (A-CDM) in Adverse Conditions helps airports minimise the impact of bad weather on operations by disseminating relevant information in anticipation of disruptions and allowing a rapid recovery after disruptions.
Changes in airport capacity are communicated in real time to the Network Operations Centre at EUROCONTROL headquarters with up-to-date Estimated Take-Off Times (ETOT).
This enables the development of strategies to help deal with the situation as it evolves.
The creation of Airport Operations Centres (APOC)
Some airports have established an Airport Operations Centre (APOC), which acts as a focal point in unusual situations.
These APOC help enhance the service provided and minimise disruption to the aviation network. They also make sure that agreements on who needs which information when are reached well in advance on a problem.
For those airports which do not have an APOC, an updated communication list should be maintained with the contact details of the decision makers from the various organisations who would be involved in managing the situation at an airport.
Enhanced interfaces including regular telephone conferences would formalise the integration of airport winter operations into network operations. Until all major European airports have implemented CDM and, in particular, adverse weather applications and milestones, we believe that such interfaces will bring all involved to a higher level of knowledge and understanding of events.
