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Schedule management system and method for managing air traffic

  • US 9,177,480 B2
  • Filed: 03/06/2013
  • Issued: 11/03/2015
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2011
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A schedule management system for managing air traffic comprising multiple aircraft that are within a defined airspace and approaching an arrival airport, each of the multiple aircraft having existing trajectory parameters comprising three-dimensional position and velocity, the schedule management system comprising:

  • on-aircraft flight management systems individually associated with the multiple aircraft and adapted to determine aircraft trajectory and flight-specific cost data of the aircraft associated therewith;

    an air traffic control system adapted to monitor the multiple aircraft but is not located on any of the multiple aircraft, the air traffic control system having a decision support tool, the air traffic control system being operable to acquire the aircraft trajectory and the flight-specific cost data from the flight management systems and generate a scheduled time-of-arrival (STA) for each of the multiple aircraft for at least one location along an approach to the arrival airport;

    wherein if any of the multiple aircraft miss the STA thereof at the at least one location and thereby delays a second of the multiple aircraft flying towards the at least one location to impose a later STA for the second aircraft, the air traffic control system is operable to transmit the aircraft trajectory and the flight-specific cost data to the decision support tool, utilize the decision support tool to determine if a particular trajectory alteration is more cost-efficient for the second aircraft to absorb the delay associated with the later STA, and then transmit instructions to the second aircraft based on a human decision facilitated by the decision support tool.

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