ABSTRACT
The fundamental goal of Traffic Flow Management (TFM) is to strategically manage the flow of air traffic to minimize delays and congestion due to system stressors such as weather or equipment outages in the National Airspace System (NAS). Effective traffic management is crucial to realizing the anticipated benefits associated with greater efficiency and fewer delays envisioned for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). However, due to the shortfalls inherent in today’s system, Traffic Managers currently lack the tools necessary to accomplish the core functions of TFM: analyzing capacity, assessing demand, and managing constraints. As a consequence, the systems and capabilities that are used for TFM today cannot provide an adequate foundation for future system enhancements and NextGen capabilities. In this paper we describe the human performance aspects of the shortfalls identified and tie them to operational impacts through real-world examples of resulting inefficiencies.
