Consideration of Strategic Airspace Constraints for Dynamic Weather Routes

Abstract

This paper describes analysis of strategic airspace constraints related to flights selected for dynamic weather routes. Dynamic weather routes slightly modify a flight’s currently active flight plan. They are applied from the aircraft’s current location to a flight plan fix downstream, while avoiding forecasted convective weather regions using up to two additional waypoints. Air traffic congested sectors and Special Use Airspaces are the two types of airspace constraints that are considered in this study. The sector traffic counts are predicted to avoid congestion downstream along the dynamic weather routes. A comparison of congested sectors for actual tracks flown and aircraft simulated to fly on dynamic weather routes is shown using five days of data from the Fort Worth Center. Also, a qualitative measure of goodness of the dynamic weather route is presented. This score indicates the difference of flying the actual tracks versus flying the dynamic weather route from a sector congestion point of view. Current analysis indicates that proposing dynamic weather routes helps save time, and consequently fuel, and alleviates congestion overall. For the cases considered, it also appears that the suggested routes could route aircraft away from congestion, helping traffic managers take aircraft away from congested areas. The dynamic weather route suggestions are also evaluated for traversal through Special Use Airspaces. The Special Use Airspace impact is presented as an advisory for selection of the routes by aircraft operators.