Capacity-Enhancing Air Traffic Management Concept.

A capacity-enhancing, gate-to-gate air traffic management (ATM) operational concept for the U.S. National Airspace System in 2020 is presented. The concept defines five core services for ATM: airspace, flow, traffic, separation, and information management. Flow, traffic, and separation management are the services that directly influence air traffic movement, whereas airspace management determines the physical resources available to accommodate traffic demand. Information management is a new service that provides the collection, storage, and dissemination of air traffic information throughout the system. The planning and control authority of flow, traffic, and separation management is determined using a partitioning of planning time horizons to each service. A method for assessing the benefits of these and other operational concepts is also outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]