Stuttgart pioneers 'missing link' for A-CDM

A German aviation industry consortium has successfully completed testing of the Total Airport Management Suite (TAMS).

This is a set of software tools that could be utilised by Europe's congested airports to enhance airport collaborative decision making (A-CDM) practices and improve operations by incorporating landside and passenger information into the airside-centric view of A-CDM.

According to the project leaders, TAMS goes beyond A-CDM in three respects: first, it takes a balanced approach to both landside and airside processes; second, it is more predictive than reactive and extends the time horizon of CDM planning to a pre-tactical range of several hours; and thirdly it has also introduced new concept elements such as an Airport Operations Plan and an Airport Operations Center (APOC).

"The results are impressive," Dr Christoph Meier, the Siemens TAMS project manager, said at a demonstration event on 22 May. "We could show that even at mid-size airports, we could improve the departure punctuality while maintaining the level of punctuality for arrivals; we could reduce the rate of 'missed' passengers and as well reduce engine running time."