The FAA recently completed a six-day multiregional demonstration of trajectory-based operations (TBO) in a move the agency said could pave the way for collaborative data-sharing among countries to improve the efficiency and safety of flights.
Calling the demonstration a first-of-its-kind joint effort to manage flights, the FAA said the TBO approach—which enables affected regions to predict where an aircraft will be and at what time—proved successful. The trial involved four unique scenarios and flights this month between the U.S., Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
Under TBO, countries share data on aircraft trajectory—including latitude, longitude, altitude, and time—and air traffic managers from each location sequence flights to provide an optimal route across multiple regions, factoring in weather, airspace closures, and other air traffic.
In the future, the FAA expects air traffic controllers will shift from sharing information using voice-based exchanges to primarily sharing through data. “This will allow each country to be immediately aware of how changes in other countries will affect a flight and better plan for when an aircraft enters its area of responsibility,” the agency added.
As for the demonstration, the FAA said the trials showed how sharing and coordinating trajectory information across multiple countries could improve safety and efficiency, minimizing delays and reducing travel time. The result, the agency added, could reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions by up to 10 percent.