Weather-Aware Integrated Air Traffic Management Technology Development

Air Traffic Management (ATM) balances expected demand with available capacity at airport and airspace resources for multiple hours into the future. Predicting demand and capacity levels at these time horizons is challenging due to highly dynamic conditions, especially during periods of adverse weather. This is compounded by the fact that decision support technologies are often stove-piped and do not translate weather impacts into key decision metrics, which limits their effectiveness. This paper describes an integrated suite of technologies being developed to enable more effective weather-aware decision support for ATM needs. Technologies tailored to specific needs in terms of weather situational awareness and impact translation at airport, terminal and en route airspace resources are described. Details of some of the key technology components and operational prototyping efforts with NAV CANADA are described. Finally, the paper outlines how they will ultimately be integrated along with other advanced ATM automation systems to support the evolution of NAV CANADA’s operations, for example towards network management and Trajectory Based Operations (TBO). This effort could provide valuable insights for other world regions experiencing similar ATM challenges, including the US & Europe.