Topflight – Perfect Transatlantic Flights
Building on the success of our ‘Perfect Flight’ project in 2010, NATS have headed up an industry consortium to take environmentally-friendly flying to the next level, right across the North Atlantic.
Building on the success of our ‘Perfect Flight’ project in 2010 in which a British Airways (BA) Heathrow to Edinburgh flight was environmentally optimised through all stages of the journey, NATS launched an even more ambitious trial to carry out environmentally ‘optimised’ flights from Heathrow across the North Atlantic during 2013.
TOPFLIGHT is a NATS led project designed to test elements of the SESAR concept in a real operational environment. As well as NATS and British Airways, the TOPFLIGHT partners include the Canadian air traffic service NAV CANADA, Airbus ProSky, Boeing and Barco Orthogon. It is also being supported by the Irish Aviation Authority and part funded by the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
The first phase of the TOPFLIGHT trial has already successfully demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of key elements of the SESAR concept in a real operational environment. Last year, 100 transatlantic flights were optimised to maximise efficiency and save fuel by providing an initial Oceanic profile before departure; the use of continuous climb and descent profiles and direct routings; the use of more flexible Oceanic clearances; the flexible use of military airspace, as well as reduced engine taxiing.
The project has analysed a significant amount of data on each flight in order to understand where efficiencies have been made. By combining the different operational elements above, the trial has helped to save up to half a tonne of fuel per-flight, equivalent to nearly 1.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
‘We’re delighted with the results because they demonstrate that elements of the SESAR concept are truly scalable and can deliver substantial benefits to airspace users in today’s operational environment.’ Joe Baker, NATS project manager.
Where Next?
Phase two of TOPFLIGHT will begin in early 2014 and focus on the use of the NATS Cross Border Arrival Management (XMAN) tool to reduce the amount of time aircraft spend in holding stacks at Heathrow. During the trial, when significant delay is anticipated, aircraft will be slowed en-route to London by air traffic controllers working in France, the Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland. The FABEC XMAN initiative has been enabled by significant NATS programmes investment and is thought to be the first cross-border arrivals management trial of its kind anywhere in the world. It is hoped that other airlines and ATC providers will pick up the TOPFLIGHT baton.
‘The next phase of the project is very exciting. It will see NATS collaborating with our partner ANSPs to cut orbital holding times at Heathrow by around 25%, saving fuel, cutting carbon emissions, reducing aircraft noise over the south east of England and demonstrating that large-scale sustainable air travel is achievable.” Joe Baker, NATS project manager.
