Benefits analysis of a proposed collaborative information exchange capability

Special Use Airspace (SUA) are volumes of airspace wherein limitations are placed on the activity of civilian air traffic. For example, many SUAs are used for training missions by the U.S. military, and, when “closed,” are off-limits to civilian air traffic. Historically, SUA status information (SUA is open vs. closed to civilians) has been known to the military, but not always conveyed to civilian airspace users/managers in a timely fashion. A proposed new capability of the modernized Traffic Flow Management (TFM) system is called Collaborative Information Exchange (CIX) — it remedies this situation by enabling the real-time sharing of SUA current and future state. This enables flights to flight-plan and fly routes that agree, based on the status of the SUA. The authors performed a benefits analysis as part of the justification for the proposed capability. Rather than relying on a possibly-inaccurate schedule for SUA status, we focused on two cases: 1) Flight path is planned through the SUA, but actual aircraft track flies around it, 2) Flight path is planned around the SUA, but actual aircraft track flies through it. These two cases are indications that, at least at time of takeoff, the known SUA status was not the same as when the flight approached the SUA while in flight. Two benefits mechanisms were surmised for the analysis: the unnecessary ferrying of fuel and inefficient flight paths. The presentation of results will include estimated dollar savings, as well as graphical depictions of the various cases.