Comparison of ATFM practices and performance in the U.S. and Europe

The FAA and EUROCONTROL have a long history of collaboration on air traffic management performance measurement and benchmarking. Every couple of years this results in the joint publication of their report US/Europe Comparison of Air Traffic Management Related Operational Performance. In 2015 they agreed to start taking a closer look at Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) operational practices and performance. Whereas traditional analysis always focused on comparing delay statistics, both groups now wanted to develop a better understanding of each other's application of Traffic Management Initiatives (TMI). The study participants developed an understanding of conceptual and terminology differences between the US and Europe, found data sources that would support benchmarking, and defined a common framework (metrics, indicators, and data dimensions including TMI typology) which enabled them to build a harmonized TMI database containing data covering the full calendar year 2015. The study is still ongoing, and this paper reports on research results as of end 2016. While ATFM actions (i.e. TMIs) in both regions resulted in more or less the same amount of reportable delay (approximately 10 million minutes), we found that there are significant differences in how this delay is “manufactured”: for example, differences were found in terms of the number and type of TMIs used, their duration, TMI cancellation practices, the number of flights affected, the delay production rate of TMIs, etc. This research will help both groups to improve their ability to analyze the effectiveness of ATFM and learn from each other's experience.