G l o b a l e x p e r t i s e

Ground traffic managementusing the example of Incheon International Airport (South Korea)

22

GrGround traffiound traffic management (GTM)c management (GTM)

Incheon airport (IIA) is the largest

airport in South Korea, and one of

the largest and most modern in Asia.

The airport was opened in 2001, and

has established itself as the interna-

tional hub for passenger and cargo

transport in East Asia in a relatively

short period of time.

It has received a number of interna-

tional awards, such as the ‘Best

Service’ prize at the first IATA and

ICA International Conference on

Airport Quality and Service, as well

as being named the ‘World’s Best

Airport’ by respondents of an AETRA

passenger survey in 2008.

Honeywell Airport Systems GmbH,

based in Wedel, Germany, was

contracted in 2005 to supply and

install one of the most modern traffic

management systems in existence,

the Ground Traffic Management

System for Airports.

The system provides:

Traffic situation display

Taxiing traffic analysis

A runway incursion alarm

Taxiing conflict recognition

and alarm, as well as individual

taxiing traffic guidance

To ensure the complete functioning of

the system, the data for recording

the traffic situation is processed with

a digital target extractor via the

ASTERIX (All-Purpose Structured

Eurocontrol Radar Information

Exchange) interface, along with the

flight data (AODB, FIS, etc.) and the

data from the Honeywell Control and

Monitoring System for lighting with

segmented TXC lighting.

In close cooperation with Atrics,

a network system was developed

made up of the aforementioned

components and the additional traffic

analysis, conflict recognition and

guidance functions through routing

algorithms.

The traffic situation display, alarm

output and interaction for the GTM

functions are currently carried out

on Ethernet-linked workstations.

System chart for GTM in conjunction

with CMS

3

4

GTMGround traffic managementAGL-CMSControl and monitoring system

GTM functions

Ground Traffic Management

Traffic situation display

The digitised raw radar data is dis-

played on the tower’s monitors in the

aerodrome chart in pixelated form.

The radar data is received by a non-

standardised, manufacturer-specific

interface.

Aeroplane position display

The aircraft and vehicle position

displays are provided by an external

surveillance system. A range of

symbols are available for display

on the tower monitors.

With circle display, the ‘afterglow’

effect displays the direction of move-

ment through the former positions of

the aircraft.

With triangle and aircraft symbols,

the direction the vehicle is heading in

can be displayed, which is established

via its movement (see also route

matching).

With aircraft symbols, three different

sizes of symbol are employed to differ-

entiate between the weight classes of

light, medium and heavy. The weight

class is automatically selected from

the flight plan data.

Route matching and

direction recognition

During the position display of objects

with lower speeds, usual jumps

in position are minimised by radar

surveillance route matching. Here, the

symbol is constantly projected on to

the taxiway centre line of the allocated

individual route. Similarly, the direction

of the symbol (with triangle or aircraft

symbols) is aligned to the route, ensur-

ing momentary changes in direction

brought about by radar jumps are

minimised.

EnviromentalSensors

(not yet existing)

External SystemsMonitoringÊand Control

SurveillanceÊ System FlightÊ Data

GuidanceÊ byÊ TXCÊ +ÊStopÊ BarÊ Control

TWR HMIA-SMGCS

TWR HMIA-SMGCS

ControlerWorking PositionÊ

Server

ODB &InterfacingSMAN

Dig

italR

adar

Raw

Dat

a

Automatic AGLControl

(not yet existing)

ASDE SensorÊFusion

AODB/FIS

MLAT

TWR HMIAGL

GeneralAGL

Maintanance HMIand Log for AGL(optional+A-SMGCS

SLCM

TrafficSensors

VDGS

Stop Bar

TXC

CMS

TWR HMIAGL

GTMGround Traffic Management

AGL-CMSControl and Monitoring System

IntegratedTWR HMI

A-SMGCS+AGL

5

System parameter settings

So that the system can be precisely

adapted to the local situation, the

parameters for the following areas

can be modified online:

■ Surveillance Settings

■ Routing settings

■ Conflict detection settings

■ Guidance settings

■ Planning parameter

■ Alarm class assignment

■ Alarm sound assignment

■ Restricted areas parameter

These system parameters are defined

as required by the system administrator,

and are not usually accessible online for

standard users.

Airport operational mode window

The settings for the current operational

modes can be entered by the user in

a separate window. Through this, the

procedures and rules for taxiing traffic

guidance are defined. These settings

System and operating parameter management

include the current weather conditions

(CAT I, II or III) and the runway operating

directions, as well as the take off and

landing allocations.

Restricted areas management

By drawing polygons on the aerodrome

chart, the user can define and edit

prohibited areas online.

Prohibited areas are automatically

observed during routing.

Should any aircraft or vehicle enter the

prohibited areas, an alarm is triggered.

To avoid incorrect position displays,

this minimising is only carried out

within a defined jump area, and only

for objects with a set route. Route

matching is not active on the runway

or at parking positions.

Label display and management

A label is shown for each aircraft and

vehicle. The label can be made up

of one or three lines, and shows

different flight strip information.

Inbound and outbound traffic can

be recognised by different colours.

The label can be moved by the user

via the mouse. Colours and font size

can be modified by the user online.

Approach radar window

To control the traffic situation in the

area around the airport, a separate

window is employed for arriving and

departing traffic. The display, view

distance and height filter depend on

the surveillance data used.

Label

Operational modes

66

Flight strip management

Flight strip display, editing

and filtering

The current flight strips are taken

from the airport database (AODB),

and shown to the user in a separate

window. The contents of the flight

strips can be edited here or deleted.

A filter at each workstation means

flight strips can be clearly displayed

according to area and responsibility.

Flight strips

Assigning flight strips

and radar objects

Flight strips and radar objects can

be manually assigned as necessary.

The flight strip data is automatically

adjusted with the object labels.

Taxiing destination information is

immediately converted into an

individual taxiing allocation (routing).

77

Conflict recognition

Constant traffic analysis with

conflict surveillance

Constant traffic analysis and conflict

surveillance support the air traffic

controllers in their work. The analysis

recognises unusual occurrences

in the current traffic situation, and

reports them to the controller.

Predefined conflicts are automatically

identified, and trigger an immediate

alarm with the identity of the causes,

parties involved and location.

So that it can be better modified

according to the local airport, there

are a host of parameterisation

options for conflict recognition.

The surveillance options and

conflict types implemented are

outlined below.

Runway status display

Runway occupation is monitored.

Runways with aircraft and vehicles on

them are marked in a different colour

on the airport image.

Runway incursion monitoring

Critical traffic situations that com-

promise safety on the runway are

monitored and immediately reported

to the air traffic controller.

In the runway occupation situations

below, an aircraft entering the defined

runway safety zone suffices.

The following incursion conflicts are

constantly monitored:

■ Touch-down incursion

If the runway is still occupied at a

set time before a touch down, or if

another aircraft or vehicle is found

on the high-speed exit, an alarm

is triggered. The required runway

clearance time before a landing

can be fully parameterised.

■ Start incursion

An alarm is triggered should the

runway be occupied when an

aircraft has clearance to take off.

■ Low-visibility incursion

An alarm is triggered for double

occupation of a runway when

CAT II or III status is activated.

■ Misuse incursion

An alarm is triggered when-

ever an aircraft taxis on or

approaches a runway in the

opposite direction to the

defined operational direction,

and whenever an aircraft taxis

on or approaches a prohibited

runway.

■ ILS area violation

An alarm is triggered when an air

craft enters the ILS prohibited

area for its category within a

specific period of time before a

touch down.

The ILS prohibited areas can

be assigned to different aircraft

classes. The required ILS clear

ance times before a landing can

be fully parameterised.

Runway occupation

Runway incursion

8

Taxi conflict monitoring

Taxiing traffic is monitored within

the manoeuvring area for potential

conflicts. Surveillance can be para-

meterised and defined according

to airport category.

Some conflict surveillance features

require individual taxiing routes to

be assigned to aircraft and vehicles.

■Stop-bar overrun

Taxiing over an activated stop bar

generally triggers an alarm. It does

not matter here whether the stop

bar was turned on automatically

via the routing system or manually.

■Holding-position overrun

Taxiing over an assigned holding

position without approval triggers

an alarm.

A holding position is a component

of an assigned individual taxiing

route.

Holding positions can be runway

holding points or other defined

holding positions at the airport.

■Route deviation

Leaving an assigned individual

route triggers an alarm.

■Deadlock

Should two aircraft taxi along

a section of taxiway in opposite

directions, an alarm is triggered.

Conflict recognition requires

assigned individual routes.

Stop-bar overrun

Deadlock

■ Speeding

Exceeding the maximum taxiing

speed on a taxiway triggers an

alarm.

■ Spacing

An alarm is triggered if the safe

distance between two aeroplanes

is not adhered to.

■ Stand occupied

An alarm is triggered when an

aeroplane is assigned a parking

position that is already occupied.

■ Restricted area violation

An alarm is triggered when aircraft

or vehicles enter a prohibited

area, or when their route leads

them through a prohibited area.

Turning on taxiway lights manually

within a prohibited area also

triggers an alarm.

■ Intersection conflict

An alarm is triggered when two

aircraft enter an intersection area

from different directions. This con-

flict is also monitored when aircraft

are not assigned individual routes.

99

Automatic traffic guidanceAutomatic traffic guidance

General functions and rules

Guidance is based on calculated,

manually entered or predefined taxi

routes.

During calculation, standard route

models stored in the system are used

as much as possible as preferred route

segments. Route suggestions and

activated routes are displayed on the

air traffic controller’s aerodrome chart.

When the system is connected with

the lights, activated routes are shown

to the pilot automatically via the

taxiway lights. Holding positions are

shown to the pilot via stop bars. In

addition, stop bars can be used to

generally secure non-approved or

prohibited areas.

The routes and holding positions are pre-

pared so that they can be transferred to

aircraft and vehicles for direct display

on the cockpit glass panel.

In the following descriptions, the

system is linked directly to the lights.

This is not imperative, though it offers

the greatest benefits and practicali-

ties, as well as safety, by automatically

passing on guidance information to

the pilots.

1010

Light routing

The user is supported by the general

routing algorithms, to make turning

taxiway centre-line lights on and off

easy. By inputting the beginning and

end points, the shortest route over

given midpoints is calculated. This

route suggestion can be activated to

turn on the taxiway centre-line lights.

Taxiways selected in this manner are

not assigned to individual aircraft or

vehicles. Taxiways that are illumina-

ted via this feature are not included in

the route-related traffic analysis and

conflict recognition systems.

Activating stop bars

Each stop bar can be activated manu-

ally by the user at any time. If the stop

bar is on an active route, the position

is entered as an obligatory stopping

point. If the route is displayed via

the lights, the green line terminates

immediately at the stop bar, while the

remaining route behind the stop bar is

not illuminated.

Individuelles routing

With individual routing, each vehi-

cle or aircraft is assigned its own,

individual route. The individual routes

take the standard route model into

account, as well as prohibited areas

and the current traffic situation.

The current flight strip entry is used

as the taxiing destination. Changes

to the destination in the flight strip im-

mediately initiate a recalculation of the

route from the current position of the

aircraft. In the same way, midpoints

can be entered at any time, with the

route modified accordingly. A new or

modified route is immediately displa-

yed to the pilot via the lights.

An individual route always ends at a

stand, a line-up position or a prede-

fined holding position.

A route displayed by lights never

crosses an activated stop bar. The

green line terminates at the stop bar,

with the lights of the remaining route

after the stop bar turned off. Individu-

al routes can also separate individual

aeroplanes in taxiing direction, where

necessary (block guidance with limi-

ted range of sight). Individual routes

are required for certain taxiing conflict

surveillance services.

Runway exit assignment

As they come in to land, pilots are

shown the unused runway exits to

choose from.

These exits are indicated via the lights.

Leaving the runway is identified, and

the exit taken by the pilot is used as

the starting point for the immediately

calculated route to the parking positi-

on. This route is immediately added

to the already activated centre-line

lights of the exit. All other non-se-

lected exit taxiways are automatically

deactivated.

Runway safety through stop bars

Each runway that cannot be ta-

xied upon due to the current traffic

situation is secured by the stop bars

installed.

Junction safety

At junctions, the sides of the route

being followed are automatically

secured by stop bars to prevent any

other aircraft entering the prohibited

area in a lateral direction. Only one

junction-crossing route is shown via

the centre-line lights.

1111

VDGS activation

If Visual Docking Guidance Systems

are employed at the parking posi-

tions, these can be automatically

activated before the aircraft reaches

the system. When A-VDGS is used,

the necessary parameters from the

flight plan are forwarded in good time

for system parameterisation. A-VDGS

reports regarding the successful

reaching of the parking position are

shown in the airport image.

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