Integrated Traffic Flow Management

Integrated TFM and the NextGen Mid-Term TFM Concept of Operations

Efficient ATM in the NextGen Mid-Term will require the coordination and integration of traffic flow management solutions that deal with individual congestion problems into system-wide solutions. Such solutions will strategically apply the optimal distribution of ground delay and trajectory management to concurrently resolve airport departure, en route airspace, and arrival constraints.

The Integrated Traffic Flow Management (TFM) and NextGen Mid-Term TFM Concept of Operations project seeks to develop a foundation for system-wide congestion management through prototype development of an integrated framework in which users can apply capacity reductions to NAS resources and have the system apply appropriate controls using NAS User preferred trajectories. This research lays the foundation for strategic scheduling of NAS User demand through multiple constraints.

In addition to research through prototyping, this project is committed to supporting the effort of System Operations through the development of the NextGen Mid-Term TFM Concept of Operations. Research for integrated TFM will be a significant component of TFM operations in the Mid-Term, circa 2018, and beyond.