MIT, PASSUR Study Shows Significant Benefits of Surface Departure Metering

Posted by Courtney E. HowardSTAMFORD, Conn., 2 Sept. 2011. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research engineers have revealed findings of a study on the fuel- and carbon-reduction benefits of surface departure metering performed at JFK International Airport. Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airlines operating at the airport, and PASSUR Aerospace, under the leadership of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, collaborated on the departure metering program.Research engineers compared taxi out times, fuel burn, and emissions before and after implementation of the metering program. They then compared data gathered over six months of the departure metering program to 12 months of operational data gleaned prior to the implementation of the metering program.

The study yielded the following results:• An estimated $10MM-$15MM annual savings across all the carriers involved in the metering program (using a range of $2-$3/gallon cost of aviation fuel), due to the "engines off virtual queue." Per-carrier savings will vary depending on their actual proportion of the schedule and fleet mix.• Five million fewer gallons of fuel burned per year, resulting in a reduction of 48,000 metric tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere per year, derived from "engines off virtual queuing."• 14,800 fewer total departure taxi hours per year, resulting from flights that remain at the gate with passengers in the departure lounge (or sometimes at a remote metering pad) followed by a lower active taxi time when they are released, rather than joining an extended active taxi queue.

The proprietary program combines software, process management, and a manned operations center staffed by a PASSUR professional services team—resulting in a "virtual departure queue." In the queue, flights are held at the gate or in a common metering area, rather than being queuing in an extended line with engines on, to “meter” the departures. When aircraft enter the active taxiway, they are ready to depart quickly, in a shorter taxi queue with less fuel burn, says an MIT research engineer. "Virtual queuing" helps to preserve a flight's position in the departure line-up and its planned runway departure time, regardless of whether the aircraft is physically on the active taxiway.

PASSUR personnel assisted with the provision of data and guidance on the analytical methodology and results interpretation based on PASSUR's design, implementation, and operation of the departure metering program at JFK.

Conducting the study were researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory and MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who are undertaking benefits assessment of surface congestion management systems at several U.S. airports. These activities support MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s development of a Tower Flight Data Manager (TFDM) system prototype, intended to help meet the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) objectives.

The JFK study proved to be complementary to MIT's field demonstrations of a departure metering concept at Boston Logan airport. These studies are part of a broader set of gate-to-gate operational mitigation areas under exploration, including advanced departure, cruise, and approach operations.

A technical paper revealing the detailed results of the study will be published at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference in Virginia Beach in September.