Point merge is a systemised method for sequencing arrival flows developed by the EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre (EEC) in 2006.
Point merge is now operational in 28 places over 4 continents and the list keeps on growing. First deployed in Oslo (2011) and Dublin (2012), the new method quickly achieved an international outreach, not only within the ECAC area, but also far beyond its borders. It was put into operation at Seoul (2012), Paris ACC (2013), three Norwegian regional airports (2014), Kuala Lumpur (2014), Lagos (2014), Canary Islands (Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, 2014), London City and Biggin Hill (2016). More recent implementations include Bogota (2017), Saint Petersburg (2017), Jeju in South Korea (2017), IST-Sabiha Gökçen and the new Istanbul airport (2018), Moscow Sheremetyevo (2018), Bergamo (2019), Tokyo Haneda (2019), Ekaterinburg (2019), Ho Chi Minh City (2019), Nur-Sultan (2019) and Shanghai – Pudong (ZSPD) (2020). Next implementation is planned, at Lisbon (April 2020) and there is a firm plan for São Paulo (September 2020).
Point Merge is one of the ICAO aviation system block upgrades (ASBU) and is referenced as a technique to support continuous descent operations (CDO - ICAO doc 9931).