The importance of airports, those nodes of the network where every flight departs and lands, is increasingly appreciated by all network actors, and there is now greater understanding of how airport operations directly affect the efficiency of en-route flying and capacity management.
The role of the Airport Function is to liaise directly with airport operators, both on a strategic basis and tactically on the day (usually via an APOC, an Airport Operations Centre) to ensure the NMOC is aware of any operational challenges and difficulties.
Activities include the analysis of airport slots balanced against capacity, the monitoring of traffic demand through Air Traffic Flow Management systems and regulation measures, and recommending tactical interventions to reduce flight delays and while maximising available airport resources.
Additionally, there is a requirement to provide Day -1 capacity management analysis to the NMOC Pre-tactical Team and a post-operations debrief to the NMOC management team.
This is supported by a dedicated dashboard providing a single interface showing DCB issues and those general KPIs indicative of airport operations performance that are particularly relevant for the NMOC (arrival/departure on-time performance, local impact of regulations, A-CDM derived KPIs, etc.). It supports the operational exchange between an APOC and the NMOC in the pre-tactical and tactical phases by highlighting the main issues in a consolidated view. The dashboard enhances common situational awareness and enables better decision-making for network partners, who can then jointly implement optimal actions/measures that support airport operations, thus improving overall network performance.
A weekly airport briefing is also organised by the Airport Function to provide the network vision on upcoming weather events, known disruptions, expected passenger demand and traffic evolution. Airports interested in attending these operational briefings should email us at [email protected].