Preliminary Impact Assessment of the Ad Hoc Separation Minima: A New Separation Mode
Source abstract
Abstract
A major challenge for the Air Traffic Management system is the need to boost airspace capacity, which is near saturation in some situations. Separation minima are one of the factors related to airspace capacity, and the SESAR program promotes research into advanced separation modes. Ad Hoc separation, a novel separation mode, involves applying different pairwise separation minima in the same volume of airspace depending on a set of factors, such as encounter geometry, aircraft models, and flight level, among others. This research examines the impact of implementing this concept in different en-route scenarios. The goal is to determine whether applying this concept proves advantageous or, conversely, results in an increase in the complexity of the system without significant benefits in the key performance areas of capacity, environment, and cost-efficiency. Fast Time Simulations are conducted in RAMS software, with the concept being implemented in the LECMZMU, LECMTLU, and LECMDGU sectors of the Madrid ACC. The results reveal favorable capacity outcomes with increases of around 2% and the LECMZMU sector exhibits the most significant environmental and cost-efficiency benefits. Furthermore, implementing the Ad Hoc concept in a larger scenario could yield even greater environmental and cost-efficiency benefits.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Gas Dynamics and Kinetic Theory · Combustion and Detonation Processes · Computational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
ETSI Aeronáutica y del Espacio. Plaza del Cardenal Cisneros, 3, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Iberia Airlines, Calle de Martínez Villergas, 49, 28027 Madrid, Spain
AESA—Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea en España, Paseo de la Castellana 112, 28046 Madrid, Spain
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