Guwahati has become the eighth Indian airport to implement an Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system that improves the performance of airport operations and ensures a smooth arrival and departure sequence for airlines.
The A-CDM system, which was implemented in Guwahati on January 29, uses aircraft expected time of arrival, runway-in-use and runway handling capacity among other factors to determine the aircraft arrival and departure sequence. This aids in managing aircraft delays to helping reduce carbon emissions. Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthpuram have successfully used this system.
“The benefits of A-CDM are widely recognised in the aviation industry, notably its ability to improve efficiency of airport operations and reduce aircraft holding delays on the runway, consequently saving fuel and reducing carbon emissions,” a senior Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.
Studies by AAI and other private airport operators have showed that A-CDM had resulted in higher coordination between all operational partners, improved ground handling processes and improved programmability due to increased stability for all operational processes (between airlines, airport operators and Air Traffic Control) based on reliable target times.
ICAO Asia Pacific Office has assigned AAI the task of drafting the Regional A-CDM implementation plan to India, with the support of International Air Transport Association, Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation and Singapore.
“A-CDM is a change of mindset and working methods involving the main stakeholders of an airport. This includes, at a minimum, the Air Navigation Service Provider, airport operator, ground handlers, and the airlines. The objective is to improve the performance of airport operations and provide overall better predictability, by enabling the stakeholders to work together as a team for mutual benefit,” the AAI official said.
The first successful adoption of A-CDM was done in 2015 at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where software development, network design, hardware planning, live testing, implementation and software maintenance were all completed in-house by AAI.
