Analysis of AIRE Continuous Descent Arrival operations at Atlanta and Miami

A continuous descent arrival (CDA) is a cockpit based flight technique characterized by operations that descend continuously at or near idle power settings resulting in reduced noise and emissions compared to standard stair-step arrival techniques. The development of published optimized profile descent (OPD) procedures that permit use of the CDA technique is generally considered to be a key step in the modernization of air traffic operations. The Atlantic interoperability initiative to reduce emissions (AIRE) program, a partnership between the federal aviation administration (FAA) and the European commission (EC), developed and demonstrated CDA compatible OPD procedures as one of several key initiatives geared towards reducing aviationpsilas environmental footprint. The demonstrations were conducted at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international airport (ATL) and Miami international airport (MIA) in May of 2008. The MITRE corporationpsilas center for advanced aviation system development (CAASD) was tasked by the FAA to facilitate the procedure development process, assist in demonstration coordination, address air traffic control (ATC) familiarization issues through human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulations, and conduct modeling and operational benefits analysis of the resulting demonstration flights. Fuel savings of 37 gallons per flight were estimated for ATL demonstration flights, and fuel savings of 49 gallons per flight were estimated for MIA demonstration flights. Key operational issues were identified as the result of HITL simulations, and airspace impacts of implementing an OPD procedure for CDA technique usage were captured from analysis of the demonstration flights as well as data from the HITL simulation.