Redefining Future Operations through Technology Enabled Services

Asia Pacific’s aviation market holistically went from being one of the fastest growing and most dynamic to among the slowest to emerge, from the impact of COVID lockdowns and travel restrictions.

Recently, restrictions have been relaxed for both Hong Kong and Mainland China, which is the stimulus the region needed in order to truly recover from the impact of COVID-19.  Hong Kong has also embarked on a ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign, promoting enthusiasm and energy around a country, which has suffered in terms of low air traffic movements for one of the longest periods globally. As part of this campaign, the Hong Kong Government is also handing out 500,000 free flight tickets to act as a catalyst for its return to its rightful regional position.

However, the fragmented nature of the Asia Pacific’s recovery has created an Air Traffic Management operational picture still unlike that of 2019 and with a future equally less clear. Peaks and troughs of flight schedules, changes in fleet mix, or the reduction of cargo operations transitioning back towards passenger flights puts strain and uncertainty on a network still suffering with a lack of resiliency. Across the region and the rest of the world, a severe lack of skilled resource and experience is one of the major hurdles to overcome which could yet hinder the speed of recovery for the industry.

At the end of last year, I had the pleasure of attending the CANSO Asia Pacific Conference in Goa, India, under the banner of ‘Think Global, Collaborate Regional, Accomplish Local.’  It is this ethos which will be critical for all aviation stakeholders if we are to provide solutions for today, and for the future.

“Adopting a technology enabled service is fundamental to the achieving the levels of safety, resiliency, and sustainability within our operations”

But where to start from? Air Traffic Management is such a data rich environment; however, a significant percentage of providers (ANSPs or airport authorities) do not possess the ability to capture and process what is happening in their operations on a day-to-day basis. A common theme which I hear across the region is “how do I get more from what I have?” An inability to analyse the good, the bad, or the indifferent has significant repercussions for efficiency not just in the current period, but it also creates an unstable platform to build upon. Therefore, to baseline operations and probe the right questions is the first essential component and something NATS has supported multiple international airports with, helping create data rich environments or digital twin of their operations.

The next step is to create a bespoke and optimised roadmap to accurately ensure implementation of the right kind of improvements and investments at optimal time periods.  Shorter term investment in people and training may be one of the initial key focus areas for airports to ensure their controllers regain or build the capability to manage High Intensity Runway Operations (HIRO). This ensures current assets are sweated and human performance is optimised, whilst medium-term solutions may be through technology deployments. That might include tools like that designed jointly by NATS and Leidos called Intelligent Approach and which is currently used at Heathrow, Toronto, and most recently Schiphol Airport. 

Intelligent Approach enables controllers to achieve the finest levels of accuracy on final approach from both a Distance Based Separation or Time-Based Separation parameter.  This accuracy has already reduced airborne delay at Heathrow by over 230,000 minutes, an estimated saving to the industry of around £300m and approximately 115,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.   

With the industry also rightly focusing on environmental sustainability – with most adopting the target of reaching Net Zero - an ability to accurately measure or benchmark operational environmental performance is vital.

In 2008, NATS started with its Environmental Programme and from 2012 started measuring the environmental efficiency of UK airspace using a tool called 3Di – or Three Dimensional Insight. This data driven tool calculates not just the efficiency of the routing of every flight, but also its conformance to a Continuous Climb or Descent (CCO / CDO) profiles. Aircraft which are forced to adopt stepped climbs, indirect routes, or end up in a holding pattern on arrival score poorly. Those that continuously climb and descend with a direct track from point-to-point score well. The principles behind 3Di are equally applicable to other industry stakeholders, however the strength comes not just from the fuel efficiency measures generated, but also from the organisational culture shift of performance targets and a confidence to really take ownership and responsibility for tackling the global environmental crisis we all face. Through CANSO, NATS made 3Di freely available to the industry in 2021.

Adopting a technology enabled service is fundamental to the achieving the levels of safety, resiliency, and sustainability within our operations.  Airport and airspace have never been so closely scrutinised by local communities, environmentalists, politicians, and financiers which fundamentally will require a different way of assuring performance optimisation and a service which will have to be supported by technology. In an age where digitalisation and artificial intelligence are already being deployed within the industry through things like Digital & Remote Towers, consider what technology and what services will be required to successfully incorporate the rise of Advanced Urban Air Mobility and UTM into our operations?

In summary, improving performance and creating a more sustainable ATM system in Asia Pacific - and beyond - has never, collectively, been more urgent.  Operational services required to achieve future goals can only be achieved through the deployment of technological solutions. What gives me great confidence are the industry representatives I had the privilege to meet across the region. In talking to them, I see no shortage of enthusiasm to ensure the foundations for the future are built with the necessary safety, sustainability, and resiliency required by our industry and all those who travel by air now, and tomorrow.