Advantages of GNSS-Based Terminal Procedures

The air traffic control scenario shows a significant trend towards the introduction of new procedures based on global navigation satellite systems (shortly GNSS) capabilities. This trend, already successful in the U.S., is spreading now in Europe, also due to the achieved operational capability of the EGNOS system, and is expected to further increase with the future achievement of Galileo’s operational capability. The expected advantages at the network level are quite remarkable, with the reduction of ground-based infrastructures and the (although far in time) standardization on a single air navigation aiding system. The adoption of GNSS, useful during each and every step of the flight (take-off, en-route, approach, landing and even taxiing) will provide substantial benefits for on-board equipment, maintenance, crew’s training. This path is clear and widely accepted, but several aspects still have a significant interest for researchers, above all with respect to the final flight phases (approach and landing), that are also the most challenging from the technical point of view. Main issues deal with the evaluation of the satellite-based procedures’ impact in an operational scenario. The newly designed approach procedures can be easily simulated to provide a detailed analysis of the trajectory of the aircraft. With respect to the obtained position/time history, it is then possible to evaluate their performance in terms of air traffic capabilities compared to traditional ILS- or NDB-based procedures. The paper discusses the case for Parma airport by comparing conventional and satellite-based procedures, and details the advantages of the latter in terms of operations as well as in terms of environmental impact (noise) and operative cost for the planes’ owners are considered.