Integrated Free Flight and 4-D Gate-to-gate Air Traffic Management, Possibilities, Promises and Problems

In the 20th century air transport has developed into a safe, reliable and economic means of transportation for passengers, cargo and mail. In the next two decades, the air transport is forecasted to double. To enable this expansion to occur within the limited airspace, with the limited number of airports and runways and with the increasing requirements with respect to safety, noise and emissions, new technological developments are necessary. The use of satellite-based Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems. combined with further steps towards computerassisted and automated Air Traffic Management (ATM) with digital datalink between ATM and aircraft computer systems, will be necessary. The introduction of new forward-looking warning systems, the increase of precision on approach and landing systems and the improvement of procedures and training levels will be required to improve the safety level. The availability of on board "traffic displays" will allow the flight crew to take care of maintaining safe separation between aircraft, even in reduced visibility conditions. This might lead to more freedom for the flight crew to optimize flight operations. The human will become more and more a system operator who monitors the correct operation of airborne and ground-borne systems. The human must also be able to take over in case of malfunctions. This requires adequately trained individuals adequate display and control systems. Improved Man-Machine Interfaces will have to be introduced to present the data in an organized, natural and intuitive way. The paper describes the development of aviation into today's reliable air transport system and the developments and research required to enable the growth forecasted for the next decades to be realized.