Discover how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is redefining air traffic management with the Multiple Air Route Separation (MARS) concept. As a NextGen initiative, MARS leverages Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) to optimize airspace and increase access to runways like never before.
In this video, we break down the challenges of conflicting approaches between adjacent airports in the National Airspace System (NAS) and demonstrate how MARS serves as a game-changing solution to deconflict traffic safely and efficiently.
What You’ll Learn:
The MARS Solution: How reduced separation standards allow multiple flights to operate independently and simultaneously into nearby airports and/or the same airport. Separation Rules: A breakdown of how air traffic controllers maintain safety limits (1,000 feet vertically or 3 nautical miles laterally) until aircraft are established on their assigned approaches. Key Operational Elements: The dual importance of an aircraft's ability to remain within conformance standards and a controller's ability to monitor and issue corrective actions. Precise aircraft trajectory is a core element of the Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) concept. The Benefits: Increased runway access, reduced track miles, lower flight times, decreased fuel burn, reduced controller and pilot workload. The FAA remains committed to maturing the MARS concept, creating a world of opportunities for safer, more efficient skies.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction: Access and Opportunity 0:15 – The Problem: Conflicting Airport Approaches 0:46 – The MARS Solution: Deconflicting Traffic Flows 1:19 – MARS vs. EoR (Established on RNP) Principles 1:46 – Vertical vs. Lateral Separation Rules 2:21 – Two Crucial Elements for Reduced Separation 2:53 – Initial Areas of Interest & Scope 3:07 – Summary of Benefits & The Future of MARS
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The Mars Initiative utilizes Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) to reduce separation standards between aircraft approaching different airports. By de-conflicting previously overlapping procedures, it allows for simultaneous, independent air traffic flow into adjacent airports, increasing runway access and overall airspace efficiency.
It's a simple fact. When you provide access, you create opportunity.
Access is one of the key benefits of the Mars Initiative.
Utilizing new reduced separation standards based on aircraft flying PBN procedures,
the Mars concept would allow airports that currently have conflicting procedures,
rendering some simultaneous operations not feasible, to now de-conflict,
allowing for increased air traffic to flow into both airports simultaneously and independently.
The images here illustrate an example of conflicting approaches
between adjacent airports that currently exist in the NAS.
Now let's look at a potential example of the Mars concept as a solution.
The new approach into Airport Bravo never crosses the straight-in ILS approach into
Airport Alpha. Instead, the spacing between the two procedures is allowed to reduce below
three nautical miles at the closest point between them. The two procedures can be
designed to run parallel to each other or converge on each other before diverging away.
This is how Mars de-conflicts two conflicting airport flows.
Just like EOR, under Mars, controllers must maintain 1,000 feet vertically,
or three miles laterally, until both aircraft are established on their assigned approach.
Once established, the controller no longer needs to maintain
1,000 or three, thus reducing workload. Under the Mars concept, the same principles are applied
just between two separate airports instead of two separate runways of the same airport.
In this example, the controllers use 1,000 feet vertical separation until established
because the two procedures are less than three nautical miles apart at the beginning of the
operation. In this example, the controllers can use three nautical miles lateral separation
because the turn-on points are more than three nautical miles apart. The fact that
one procedure is converging on the other is authorized based on extensive safety analysis
that included controller human-in-the-loop simulations. Just like in EOR, the Mars
operation is allowed to use reduced separation because of two important elements. First,
the aircraft's ability to remain established on a published segment of an instrument approach
procedure and operate within a conformance standard. Second, the controller's ability
to monitor the conformance of each aircraft on the approach and issue corrective actions to
pilots if the aircraft deviates off course, thus ensuring separation is maintained.
The initial focus area for Mars is de-conflicting approaches within the terminal environment.
However, the concept could be applied anywhere there are conflicting flows of traffic
associated with multiple airports. The benefits of Mars are significant. In almost all occasions,
the major benefit of Mars is providing access to runways and combinations of runways that would
not have been available before. Mars is a next-gen initiative that is just beginning
to flourish. The FAA is committed to maturing the Mars concept and realizing associated benefits.
With Mars, airports can see increased access to landing runways that weren't previously available
and open up a world of opportunities.
