Comparison of ATFM Practices and Performance in The U.S. and Europe (2015-2018)

Traditionally, regional Air Traffic Management benchmarking focuses on comparing delay statistics to foster a better understanding of the different practices in the different regional systems. As part of the FAA and EUROCONTROL's ongoing U.S./Europe comparison activity, a closer look at Air Traffic Flow Management was taken to compare the operational practices and performance in each system and the application of Traffic Management Initiatives (TMI). A joint typology of traffic management initiatives was developed supporting the mapping of the varying regional concepts and terminology. Initial findings based on 2015 were previously presented. Meanwhile, the data covers a period of four years (2015-2018), supporting not only a regional comparison in a snapshot of time, but also a broader study of trends and their underlying causes. When ATFM actions (i.e. TMIs) resulted in more reportable delay, the data shows that in both systems this is primarily driven by an increase in the number of delayed flights, rather than changes in average delay per delayed flight. However, the study shows that there still are significant differences in how this extra delay is generated through ATFM. This research helps both groups improve their ability to analyze the effectiveness of ATFM and learn from each other's experience, and will form an essential basis for future regional comparisons.