RNAV PLANS

Designing routes and airspace to reduce conflicts between arrival and departure flows can be as simple as adding extra routes or as comprehensive as a full redesign in which multiple airports are jointly optimized. New strategies are in place for taking advantage of existing structures to departing aircraft through congested transition airspace. In other cases, RNAV procedures are used to develop new routes that reduce flow complexity by permitting aircraft to fly optimum routes with minimal controller intervention. These new routes spread the flow across the terminal and transition airspace so aircraft can be separated with optimal lateral distances and altitudes in and around the terminal area. In some cases, the addition of new routes alone is not sufficient, and redesign of existing routes and flows are required. Benefits are multiplied when airspace surrounding more than one airport (e.g., in a metropolitan area) can be jointly optimized.