Press Releases

FedEx Relying on Metron Aviation's Surface Management System to Optimize Operations During Runway Closure

Dulles, VA, US — March 17, 2009 — Memphis International Airport is FedEx’s global hub and the nerve center of one of the most complex, fast-cycle logistics operations today.  When a runway is closed for an extended period, the finely-tuned FedEx operations are forced to adjust flight and ground operations to keep pace with the world’s most demanding delivery schedules.

With the closure of runway 9/27 at Memphis International Airport for nine months beginning on March 1, 2009, FedEx relied on Metron Aviation’s Surface Management System (SMS) to optimize its surface operations in the face of reduced arrival and departure capacity.

Metron Aviation’s SMS gives FedEx powerful decision support features and predictive capabilities that reduce departure delays based on maximizing utilization of available resources.  With the current runway closure at Memphis, FedEx used SMS to balance the increased traffic flow over the east and west runways with measurable benefits and reduced delays.

“On the first night of the runway closure, we depended on SMS predicted queue lengths and taxi times to maximize our runway utilization,” said Steve Vail, Senior Manager, FedEx Air Traffic Operations. “In fact, we finished the push early because we were able to project bottlenecks make changes proactively.  This was not possible before SMS.”

Based on SMS projections, Fed Ex was able to move flights from the west to the east runway, resulting in savings of over 72 minutes of delay.   This enabled FedEx to complete the operations cycle, or push, 12 minutes early under normal operations.   The benefits to FedEx are expected to be even greater when faced with irregular operations and adverse conditions at Memphis.

About Metron Aviation

Metron Aviation is a world leader in Traffic Flow Management (TFM), surface operations management, airspace design, environmental analysis and advanced research services for the aviation industry. Metron Aviation fuses advanced science and mathematics with unparalleled air traffic management expertise to provide groundbreaking Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) solutions for the world’s leading Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), airports, airlines, logistics firms and other stakeholders.

Founded in 1995, Metron Aviation pioneered the advancement of TFM research and today has a proven track record of deploying and supporting major TFM systems. Metron Aviation employees are renowned subject-matter experts and industry leaders for both advancing flow management research and deploying powerful systems that maximize operational efficiency with environmental sustainability. Metron Aviation customers include the FAA, NavCanada, NASA, Eurocontrol, ATMB (China), ATNS (South Africa), FedEx, Air Canada, Memphis International Airport, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Airservices Australia.

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CONTACT:

Mike Gundling
Metron Aviation, Inc.
703.234.0852
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