Spacing-Assistant for Leipzig and Munich Approach

Before the COVID-19 pandemic and as the ATM industry recovers again, there is a growing demand for airport capacity. A possibility to meet this demand is to introduce revised wake turbulence categories and reduced separation minima according to RECAT. To enable air traffic controllers to memorize and apply these, DFS developed a Spacing-Assistant which shows the optimal turning point from the downwind to the final approach, the minimum separation between aircraft, and their optimal spacing to achieve the separation target. It automatically detects gaps on the final and calculates turning points for aircraft on the downwind to fill these gaps. In mixed mode operations, it can also be actively used to plan gaps for departures between arrivals. Objective and subjective data were collected in a Real Time Simulation with four air traffic controllers from Leipzig and Munich Approach. Results indicate that the Spacing-Assistant supports the controllers’ situational awareness and planning. It shows the potential to save capacity when taking over a working position by helping to quickly familiarize with the traffic situation and to stabilize runway throughput. When working with the Spacing-Assistant the final was shorter which implies a reduced environmental and noise impact.