Collaborative Airspace Constraint Resolution

The goal of the Collaborative Airspace Constraint Resolution (CACR) research is to define the concept of near-term (2015) NextGen Traffic Flow Management (TFM) capabilities. The CACR concept extends the capabilities of the Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP), planned for a 2013 deployment, by addressing: the inability to manage flights within 45 minutes prior to departure and the lack of adequate automation assistance provided to traffic managers for defining airspace constraints.

The CACR concept integrates tactical and strategic weather forecasts and uses this information, combined with predicted demand, to automatically detect and right-size airspace constraints. Depending on the severity of the indentified constraints, traffic managers may decide to use CACR automation to implement CACR Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs), which assign reroutes and/or delays to flights affected by these constraints. Contrary to CTOP, the flights within the scope of CACR TMIs include both pre-departure flights as well as airborne flights, excluding only flights which are within the scope of tactical separation management responsibilities of air traffic controllers. The CACR concept provides the means to collaborate on constraint resolution by collecting and incorporating user preferences in terms of enhanced Trajectory Option Sets (TOSs).