FAA international flight test demonstration takes off

A first-of-its-kind joint effort to manage flights across multiple countries by predicting where an aircraft will be and at what time has proven successful.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s six-day live flight demonstration included four unique scenarios and flights between the U.S., Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.

Using Trajectory Based Operations (TBO), countries shared the aircraft’s trajectory, and air traffic experts from each country sequenced the flights’ routes to achieve the optimal flight path across multiple regions. Controllers factored in conditions such as weather, air traffic, and airspace closures.

TBO uses precise aircraft trajectory data (latitude, longitude, altitude, and time) to show where the aircraft expects to be on its route from takeoff to touchdown. Aircraft fly precise flight paths with seamless information exchange between air and ground systems.

In the future, air traffic controllers will shift from sharing information using voice-based exchanges to sharing information more broadly, primarily using data. This will allow each country to be immediately aware of how changes in other countries will affect a flight and better plan for when an aircraft enters its area of responsibility.

The successful test demonstrated how sharing and coordinating trajectory information across multiple countries could improve safety and efficiency. This collaboration will help minimize delays and disruptions; cut travel costs and time; and reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions by up to an estimated 10%.