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The SuperSector project falls within the scope of research based on the hypothesis that the current proliferation of controlled sectors has led to a too rigid use of airspace to face with medium- to long-term traffic growth. SuperSector suggests a shift of paradigm from sector-division to sector-regrouping, i.e. instead of subdividing sectors to accommodate traffic growth, SuperSector investigates a new control organization and practices from which traffic in large volume of airspace can be managed by teams of controllers with responsibilities no more restricted to sector-planning and radar-control but span from real-time traffic flow organization to conflict solving. In this way, it is expected that SuperSector can help filling the gap between long-term predictive issues of central flow management, and short-term adaptive issues of radar-control, and thus improving safety while being able to accommodate steady growth in traffic demands.
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SuperSector explores and seeks answers to a new ATM concept that is supporting step over the sector constraints. It aims at investigating how to accommodate increasing number of aircraft in an already congested airspace, while maintaining safety at least at today level, and improving the efficiency of Air Traffic Services.
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Define, develop and validate the SuperSector concept based on:
- Airspace redesign;
- Regulation techniques (New Traffic Organisation);
- New Working methods; and
- Tools;
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Using an iterative cycle to define, develop and evaluate the concept using light real-time prototyping environment and model simulation approach.
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To investigate the optimisation at the four interdependant levels:
- Airspace re-design aimed at re-define and optimise the airspace volume and route network;
- ATFM mechanisms;
- Exploitation re-thinking aimed at define regulation techniques and controller roles and working methods; and
- Tools to support the proposed concept.
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Airspace Redesign (FL 195 - FL 340) |
Route design according to flow requirements and flight level allocation.
- Highway/Trunk;
- FLAS; and
- Offset.
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SuperSector representing a large volume (replacing 6 small sectors.
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Military Area move.
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Regulation (traffic organisation) |
- MSP/FMP to manage traffic balancing and tactical flow regulation;
- Regulate en-route traffic using vectoring and speed management techniques;
- Sequencing inbound and over-flight traffic using metering and spacing techniques; and
- Alternative methods of allocating traffic to separate controllers inside a single sector entity (E.g. by altitude layers, direction of flow).
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- The Inbound Controller manages the information related to the entry traffic;
- The Outbound Controller manages the information related to the exit traffic;
- The Planner Controller prepares the traffic from the information received from the IC;
- The Radar Controller manage the end-to-end traffic inside the volume organised and prepared by the PC; and
- The MSP/FMP manages the long-term density to provide an efficient and safe flow and co-ordinate with the Inbound/outbound controllers (The advantage of this MSP/FMP role is to manage a large volume in the team without the classical problem of the hierarchical information exchange in the classical sectors organisation).
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- Preferred level to resolve conflict (strategically);
- Strategic resolution of conflict on cross-points;
- Define the types of conflicts, traffic densities and movements in a region that would optimise the imprecise probability due to incomplete information of strategic control; and
- Types of traffic organisation (to optimise conflict resolution).
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- Without any assumptions concerning the use of new CNS technologies;
- Pragmatic changes to current working practices induced by the regrouping of sectors;
- New organisation of controller working practices to include longer planning time (e.g. MSP-FMP);
- New procedures (hand-off, intent, in-bound/out-bound control);
- Number of controllers and their roles with respect to SuperSector control; and
- New traffic management operations (e.g. Convoys).
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By proposing and enhanced infrastructure and exploitation, SuperSector will increase the levels of anticipation, planning , analysis relevant information, co-operation and co-ordination and consequently a new way to develop optimised ATC solutions.
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Gilles
Gawinowski
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SuperSector Project Manager
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