Edmonton Area Control Centre Northern Airspace and Polar Routes

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Edmonton Area Control Centre Northern
Airspace and Polar Routes
April 23-26, 2007
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EDMONTON ACC

• An overview of Airspace Structure and Traffic
  Flow Patterns

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(No Transcript)
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Edmonton North High Airspace

• Procedural airspace with
• limited radar coverage
• 4,000,000 Square KM
• Average 350 flights/day
• 30 of radio contacts are
• HF
• HF VHF Comms via
• Arctic Radio
• No direct controller-pilot
• communications North of
• 70N
• Polar Routes

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EDMONTON ACC

• High Level
• Traffic Flow
• Patterns

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Edmonton High Level Traffic Flow

• Domestic flights

• Pacific Tracks

• NAT System

• ACA Tracks

• Polar Tracks

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Polar Route Traffic

• Customers - UAL, COA, CCA, CPA, ACA, SIA, THA,
  CES, KAL, AAL, JAL
• Random routes to the Russian entry points
• Traffic conflicts with
• Itself
• Arctic Control Area
• Westbound NAT traffic
• and occasionally Eastbound NAT traffic.
• 41 flights per day summer traffic

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Edmonton Flight Information Region (FIR)

• RADAR coverage
• (200 NM)

• PAL coverage area
• (160 NM)

• NEW PALS
• July 2007

SUMMER 2007 PALS configuration
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SEPARATION STANDARDS

• LONGITUDINAL
• 15 minutes
• 10 minutes identical tracks
• Less than 10 minutes identical tracks
• Different speeds
• Lateral
• 30 miles each side of track

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Conflict GRL Times vs. ATC MANOPS

• Controllers base separation on first come first
  serve
• Controllers utilize the GRL in altitude and route
  assignment when available
• ATC assigned altitudes, routes, speeds must be
  adhered to unless a flight safety situation exits
• The GRL, in its current form, does not work!!!!

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TRAFFIC SCENARIO

• Based on actual traffic events
• Many times in the recent past
• GRL was utilized to resolve this situation vs
  MANOPS 132.1(c).

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Feb. 2007 2110Z
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Feb. 2007 2117z
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Feb. 2007 2131z
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Feb. 2007 2134z
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Feb. 2007 2140z
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Feb. 2007 2146z
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Feb. 2007 2216z
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Feb. 2007 2232z
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Feb. 2007 2240z
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Feb. 2007 2344z
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GRL Scenario RecreationSummary
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Feb. 2007 Alternate ending
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Short Term Proposal - Spring/Summer 2007

• Improve or replace the GRL.
• The reservation system must be
• Dynamic (flexible)
• Factor in Mach numbers in the case of
• overtaking flight, consistent with ATC
• requirements.
• Spirit of 1st come-1st served
• MANOPS or
• reservation (GRL)

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Short Term Proposal - Spring/Summer 2007

• Remove FL380 from the GRL.
• Retain FL380 as an altitude that can be
  assigned by ATC
• to solve problems.
• FL380 not attainable by most flights.

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Short Term Proposal - Spring/Summer 2007

• Improve the delivery to the polar gateway fixes.
• Current design leads to congestion problems.
• Alternatives
• Random routing to gateway fixes is maintained
• interval to 30 minutes to achieve 15 minutes
• Identical tracks 70N to 141W/polar gateway fixes
• - 6 aircraft per hour vice 4 aircraft per
  approved FL

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Medium Term Proposal - prior to 2008

• Develop improved procedures for more strategic
• management and intervention of polar flights.
• Improve education of ATCs and airlines through
• communication, familiarization visits and
  briefing
• packages.

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Long Term Proposal

• Implement RNP-based separation standards in
  CMNPS
• airspace.
• Improved communication in Edmonton ACC - this
  will allow for reduced separation standards.
• ADS-B leads to random routing

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EDMONTON FIR

• Safety
• Service
• Efficiency
• Through
• Professionalism

Photos courtesy AIRLINERS.NET
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QUESTIONS ?
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(No Transcript)