Airservices Australia has announced a new aviation data-sharing system, allowing the synchronisation of data for air traffic controllers and operations staff at airports.
Partnering with United States defence and security company Saab Sensis Corporation, the Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system is being implemented at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth airports.
The Australian government-owned corporation said it is the first air navigation service provider globally to take on a multi-location A-CDM implementation, with A-CDM initiatives typically led by an airport in a single location.
A-CDM has already been introduced in other countries including the US and throughout Europe, and according to Airservices, the A-CDM solution is expected to save the aviation industry an estimated $52 million over the next decade.
Airservices CEO Jason Harfield said having a coordinated overview of the same information will mean major savings in time and fuel, and improved airport operations.
"A-CDM allows our systems to share information in real time -- we're all speaking in the same language if you like, and for the first time we will all have a common picture of aircraft movements through the arrival, turnaround, and departure phases of a flight," Harfield said.
"This new system allows us to work more collaboratively. An air traffic controller can view the same real-time data that an airport or airlines operations manager can see. Ultimately this gives us greater predictability and working together we can plan the most efficient operations, which are more predictable and burn less fuel."
Harfield also expects the A-CDM to allow for the better management of taxiing aircraft, as well as arrival and departure gates, and also the reduction of delays.
"Preliminary modelling using A-CDM indicates taxi-times can be reduced by around