Air traffic management sustainability initiatives

CAAS is expanding air traffic management solutions with industry partners to better balance air traffic demand and capacity. One such solution is Long Range Air Traffic Flow Management, which improves the coordination of long-haul flights arriving at Changi Airport.

CAAS is also working with the National Environment Agency and regional partners to strengthen integration between meteorology and air traffic management. This improves the reliability, timeliness and accuracy of weather forecast information for air traffic controllers.

Convective weather impact forecast prototype

Tropical convective weather can be difficult to forecast accurately, particularly in terms of frequency, severity and location. This can erode air traffic management (ATM) efficiency, leading to:

• unplanned delays

• greater operational complexity

• higher costs

To address this, CAAS has developed convective weather impact forecast prototypes that improve the accuracy and reliability of weather forecasts. These prototypes:

• show how weather may affect airspace and aerodrome operations

• support real-time decision-making

• optimise flight efficiency

CAAS has collaborated with ANSPs in the region to implement Direct Routing Operations, which:

• enables more direct flight trajectories

• improves flight efficiency

• reduces fuel burn

Over the longer term, CAAS plans to introduce Free Route Airspace to further:

• optimise airspace capacity

• allow greater trajectory flexibility

CAAS is also developing smart tools to facilitate continuous climb and descent operations around Changi Airport. These tools will help optimise flight profiles and reduce fuel burn.

Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) tool

To support air traffic controllers in carrying out CDO, CAAS is developing solutions that highlight CDO opportunities by:

• identifying suitable aircraft

• providing the optimal top of descent

Free Route Operations (FRTO)

Traditionally, aircraft navigate along a fixed network of routes, much like highways in the sky.

FRTO offers a different approach by allowing aircraft to fly more direct trajectories instead of remaining on predefined routes, reducing:

• fuel burn

• flight time

• distance travelled

CAAS is collaborating with air navigation service providers in the region to implement Direct Routing Operations on a wider scale. In FY24/25, about 51,000 flights filed for direct routings. Together, these flights saved about 176,000 nautical miles, equivalent to about 5.96ktCO2 and 1.88kt of fuel.

CAAS is collaborating with regional ANSPs to advance Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO). This trajectory-centric approach:

• strengthens coordination among ANSPs

• ensures that each flight is strategically planned and optimised from departure to arrival

CAAS is also implementing a decision support tool to optimise departure intervals between aircraft to:

• enhance runway efficiency

• reduce delays and fuel burn

Asia-Pacific TBO Pathfinder initiative

CAAS made strong progress in advancing TBO through the Asia-Pacific TBO Pathfinder initiative. More regional ANSPs joined the initiative, and a common TBO roadmap was established to guide future implementation.

To advance TBO, CAAS and regional ANSPs conducted the first lab demonstration of Flight and Flow Information for a Collaborative Environment (FF-ICE).

The demonstration showcased how early flight planning information can be shared using modern information-sharing standards to support more coordinated and efficient flight planning across the region.