Decision Support at the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) Michael Eckert Nat’l Aviation Meteorologist michael.eckert@noaa.gov

How do we mitigate weather impacts to the NAS? ATCSCC Goals Balance air traffic demand with the capacity of the National Air Space (NAS), focusing on Safety and Efficiency But… We have a Problem… ~ 70% of delays in the National Airspace System (NAS) are attributed to weather which results in Aviation Industry loses in excess of $20,000,000,000 each year. How do we mitigate weather impacts to the NAS? The AWC NAMs provide Integrated Decision Support Services (IDSS) to the FAA in support of the NAS

Weather Ready Nation AWC NAMs are trained in Meteorology and Traffic Flow Management Partnered with FAA, CWSUs, WFOs, Airline Mets and NCEP Centers Developing innovative methods/products to deliver weather impact information

Typical Day (all times UTC) Scheduled: Impact Driven: TAF Updates - 09, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23 & 01 5-Day Terminal Outlook - 0930 Day 1-8 Impact Graphics - 1030 NY/PHL TAF Coordination - 1040 & 1640 Aviation Previous Day Impacts - 1100 NWS HQ Standup - 1145 local ATCSCC Standup - 1200 & 2000 NAS Day-1 Convective Outlook - 1245 FAA NAS Sys Rev (Day 2-4+) - 1400 FAA HQ (High Impacts as needed) -1430 Impact Driven: CAWS Collaboration SWPC, VAAC & Mtn WV Ad-hoc ATCSCC Briefings/Telcons/chats – 15+ each day Holiday Outlooks, Special Events, Tropical… Shift responsibilities

Most IDSS is: Terminal (Airport) Impacts Enroute (Cruising) Impacts Arrival/Departure Gates Weather at Airport Ground Stop (GS) Ground Delay Program (GDP) Enroute (Cruising) Impacts Route blockage

Traffic Flow Management Portal http://testbed.aviationweather.gov/page/public?name=TFM%20Portal

Ground Stop (GS) Holds aircraft at departure airport Can be immediate/unplanned Used when Weather will directly impact an Airport for ~ 1 hours Emergency situation at airport Airplanes need to land…they don’t have to take off RED = In Air YELLOW = Ground Stopped GREEN = Airborne Soon

Ground Delay Program (GDP) Used when Weather will directly impact an Airport for > 2 hours Control Air Traffic to Airports where demand > capacity Each flight gets a specific departure time Each flight gets a delay

Air Flow Program (AFP) Control volume through an en route volume of airspace Usually one-way, i.e. East Coast volume to Florida (spring break) Assigned time to cross an line rather than arrival time at an airport

Typical Daily Enroute Map GOLDEN TRIANGLE

Peak periods NAS Traffic ~ 6,500 aircraft

MILATARY RESTRICTED AREAS Military areas offer very limited corridors with little variance for lateral adjustment of route AR Route Q-Route

Where is the bigger “aviation” impact? Radar courtesy NEXLAB – College of DuPage

NY Airspace is most congested in the NAS It’s all about the real estate… Location…Location…Location Timing…Timing…Timing LGA EWR JFK

CAWS (Collaborative Aviation Weather Statement) CAWS - Valid 2100Z - 0000Z Radar Image - 2300Z

SAVINGS $250,000 Saving $$ TS SW ORD...WILL IT REACH THE TERMINAL? ORD TRACON/TOWER ASKS FOR GROUND DELAY PROGRAM Program length = 2 hours #Flights affected = 154 #Passengers affected = ~15,400 Average Delay (per flight) = 21 min Total Delay in NAS = 3,200 min or 53.3 hours $$ Savings (per 2012 - $4,690 per hour cost of delay) NAM briefed NO TS impacts to ORD/MDW SAVINGS $250,000 Saving $$ by NOT issuing a GDP…Thunderstorms expected to diminish and NOT hit ORD/MDW

$6.3 million of delay saved NO AFP Air Flow Program (AFP) requested by ZJX Reduce traffic thru ZJX to ~90 flights per hour 14z-02z due to Thunderstorms 949 Flight Delays 80,656 minutes of delay 152.8 min average delay Over 90,000 passengers affected! Normal Traffic Flow AFP Flow (dashed line) $6.3 million of delay saved NO AFP

Eagle, CO Fog Event 12/29/13

Savings ~ $228,000.00 EGE Fog Event 12/29/13 15 Min before GOES-R probability indicated clearing 20 minutes after GOES-R probability indicated clearing 30 minutes after GOES-R indicated clearing Savings ~ $228,000.00

Questions?

PC N-AWIPs TFMS AWIPs PC Wall of Weather PC N-AWIPs TFMS AWIPs PC Tools…Hardware/software

ATCSCC Weather Unit Joey Mike Frank Brandon Dan Carr Eckert Brody Smith Kremnitzer