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DFS to examine innovative point merge arrival procedure
Striving to improve the noise situation in Rhine-Main region 22 December 2011.- DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung and its partners are currently working on various models to ameliorate the noise situation in the Rhine-Main area. Even before the new runway northwest was opened, DFS had announced that it would test whether and how noise reduction can be achieved by optimising the arrival and departure system at Frankfurt Airport. Short-, medium- and long-term options are currently under discussion. These include recommendations from the task force for flight path optimisation of the Airport and Region Forum for Frankfurt Airport. "DFS is very much aware of the strain on local residents caused by air traffic," commented DFS Managing Director Ralph Riedle. "That is why we are doing whatever we can to relieve the situation within our sphere of responsibility." In the short term, an awareness-raising campaign is being carried out to increase pilots' and air traffic controllers' sensitivity to the aircraft noise situation. The objective is an approach procedure utilising continuous descent operations (CDO) at times of low traffic volume also during the day. CDO allows aircraft to basically glide all the way down to final approach starting from a high altitude. Implementation is scheduled for January 2012. In the medium term, air traffic controllers and pilots will work more closely together affording more of these low-noise descents. This procedure is meant to supplement current arrival procedures and will be used whenever safety and operational considerations allow. Furthermore, in December 2011, DFS concluded an initial simulator-based feasibility study to promote the use of noise optimised approach procedures in the long term. This new innovative procedure is called "point merge"* and represents a completely new way of handling traffic. Based on an international study**, an extensive research project was carried out to test whether the procedure can be applied at Frankfurt Airport in the long term. Arrivals following the point merge procedure are "funnelled" at a high altitude, with the necessary spacing for safety, into a continuous descent to final approach. The advantages include not only less noise production from arriving aircraft but also from outbound traffic. Since arrivals are kept at a higher altitude, departures can climb more quickly thus decreasing noise impact on the ground. The results of the study are very promising. Nevertheless, further research and simulations must be conducted to validate safety, orderly operational procedures, capacity and noise impact. In the coming years, DFS will make every effort to further investigate how to realise this auspicious concept for all large German airports, beginning with Frankfurt. * Point merge means that arrival flows come together at a defined point. This procedure is currently being used in Oslo. ** International study called "Point Merge in Extended Terminal Area" by EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, and the French air navigation service provider DSNA DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German air navigation service provider, is a State-owned company under private law and has 6,000 employees. DFS ensures the safe and punctual flow of air traffic over Germany. Staff coordinate up to 10,000 aircraft movements in German airspace every day, and nearly three million movements every year. This makes Germany the country with the highest traffic volume in Europe. DFS operates control centres in Langen, Bremen, Karlsruhe and Munich. In addition, DFS is represented in the Eurocontrol Centre in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and in the control towers of the 16 international German airports. DFS provides training and consultancy services around the world and develops and sells air traffic management systems, surveillance systems and navigation aids. The company's portfolio also comprises flight-relevant data, aeronautical publications and aeronautical information services. DFS has the following business units: Control Centre, Tower, Aeronautical Solutions and Aeronautical Information Management.
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