Nav Canada this week introduced new ICAO-standard simultaneous arrival procedures at Toronto Pearson International Airport intended to shorten flight paths and flying times, reduce fuel burn, and increase the use of quieter continuous descent operations. To obtain approval to fly the standard, operators must employ satellite-based required navigation performance (RNP) positioning systems.
Normally, aircraft that land simultaneously on parallel runways must be separated by 3 nm laterally or 1,000 feet vertically until they are lined up with the runway and established on final. As a result, some aircraft are required to fly at a low altitude or a longer trajectory to maintain their separation. The updated procedures are called EoR—established on RNP-authorization required (AR). Nav Canada said this is the largest deployment to date of the ICAO EoR standard at a major international airport.
“The EoR separation standard allows aircraft to be considered established on final as soon as they're on the RNP-AR procedure, which is now in use for both ends of Toronto Pearson’s Runway 05-23,” said Nav Canada. Consequently, “some aircraft approaching from the south will have the opportunity to fly up to 1,000 feet higher when aircraft to the north are established on an RNP-AR procedure, thereby providing aircraft with the opportunity to reduce their noise over communities located south and downwind of the airport.”