Characterization of Nationwide TRACON Departure Operations

Abstract

This paper presents a characterization study focused on nationwide TRACON departure operations. It assesses shortfalls of present-day operations and identifies the potential benefits of improving TRACON departure scheduling. To characterize present-day TRACON operations across the National Airspace System, an analysis of National Traffic Management Logs is performed along with interviews of operational subject matter experts and firsthand observations at a TRACON facility. The focus of the study is on miles in trail restrictions applied at the departure fix, as well as the process of compressing and swapping departure fixes and gates. The study shows that departure fix restrictions are frequently used and that implementation of these restrictions can be complex and workload-intensive. Also, significant facility-to-facility variation in the implementation of departure restrictions makes this problem even more challenging. The nationwide analysis shows that the top thirteen TRACONs issued more than 2,700 departure fix restrictions during the month of July 2013, affecting more than 28,000 flights. A substantial amount of delay was incurred by flights subject to these departure fix restrictions, totaling more than 4,700 hours for the month studied.