Initial Benefits Assessment of System Oriented Runway Management

Sustained growth in air traffic demand has led to congestion and significant delays at the busiest airports in the National Airspace System (NAS). Congestion and delays have the greatest impact in the terminal environments of the large airports. To help address these issues, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is studying concepts— such as System-Oriented Runway Management (SORM)—that leverage new technologies, with a focus on increasing safety and efficiency for the NAS. SORM uses two distinct technologies: Runway Configuration Management (RCM) and Combined Arrival/Departure Runway Scheduling (CADRS). Used individually, RCM and CADRS will each enhance airport performance, but they will perform best when used together. SORM’s expected benefits include support of traffic growth, cost reduction as a result of system efficiency, NAS optimization from metroplex operations, fairness in aircraft operations, and rational decision making. To quantify some of the benefits, this study estimates SORM’s benefits in four areas: runway capacity, throughput, flight time and fuel savings, and runway efficiency. The study used 2009 as the baseline and projected benefits for 2018 and 2025.