Automated airport operations explored at Charles de Gaulle workshop

ASTAIR project coordinator, ENAC, together with Aéroports de Paris (ADP) held a two-day workshop at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport with the aim of identifying and exploring scenarios for the automation of ground operations.

Ground operations are usually evaluated according to a range of indicators: the measurement of service quality through the contact parking rate, as well as the assessment of the impact on punctuality and the environment, considering factors like noise and fuel consumption. Safety, another key factor here, is improved by reducing the number of aircraft waiting on taxiways, thereby contributing positively to overall safety metrics. These are some of the key performance indicators that were considered during the analysis and evaluation of Charles de Gaulle airport operations.

On the first day, participants had a chance to discover in depth how the main airport of Paris handles procedures and airside adverse situations are managed. This has been possible thanks to a guided tour through different facilities, such as the collaborative decision making (CDM) cell, airside operation centre (airside part of CDG APOC) and monitoring tools.

This led to the definition of different scenarios in which the automation of ground operations would benefit CDG operations in terms of timing and reliability, tracking the path for ASTAIR research.

The second and last day gave the opportunity to project members to interview Sofiane Jaber, part-time ground air traffic controller at CDG airport and part-time at the air navigation service provider's administration on procedures definition. The discussion focused on the important topic of arrival flights parking waiting for parking to be available, which have led to incidents on the taxiway. The discussion on scenarios where automation could help smooth traffic and avoid accident-prone situations, has been prompted by this recurring issue.

Last part of the experience was dedicated to the observation of Air France station and Vigie Traffic workstations and tools, permitting the acknowledgement of the standard procedures used by Air France employees both during ordinary and emergency situations.

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