BOBCAT Operations – post RVSM Afghanistan & RHS

The Second ATS Coordination Meeting of Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea
and Indian Ocean Region (BOBASIO/2)
Chennai, India, 11 – 13 April 2012.
Agenda Item 6: BOBCAT Operations – post RVSM Afghanistan & RHS
BOBCAT Operations – Post-RVSM Afghanistan and RHS
(Presented by AEROTHAI)
SUMMARY
BOBASIO/2−WP /14
11—13/4/2012
This paper presents update of BOBCAT operations after implementation of RVSM
in Afghanistan airspace and Reduced Horizontal Separation in the Bay of Bengal.
This paper relates to –
Relevant Strategic Objectives:
A: Safety – Enhance global civil aviation safety
C: Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of Air Transport
– Foster harmonized and economically viable development of international
civil aviation that does not unduly harm the environment
Global Plan Initiatives:
GPI-2 Reduced vertical separation minima
GPI-6 Air traffic flow management
GPI-8 Collaborative airspace design and management
GPI-9 Situational awareness
GPI-12 Functional integration of ground systems with airborne systems
GPI-16 Decision support systems and alerting systems
GPI-17 Data link applications
GPI-18 Aeronautical information
GPI-21 Navigation systems
GPI-22 Communication infrastructure
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The meeting would recall implementation of ATFM procedure for westbound
flights through Afghanistan during busy night time period using the BOBCAT system in 5
July 2007. During the first month of implementation, average westbound traffic through
Afghanistan airspace during the BOBCAT hours was approximately 47 aircraft. Since then,
traffic through Afghanistan airspace using the BOBCAT system has increased to average of
60 aircraft in January 2012, with peak nightly traffic of 73 aircraft.

BOBASIO/2–WP /14 -2-
1.2 The meeting is advised of RVSM implementation in Afghanistan, Russian
Federation and other Central Asian States on AIRAC 17 November 2011.
1.3 The meeting would also recall implementation of Reduced Horizontal
Separation across the Bay of Bengal airspace taking advantage of airborne RNP10 equipage
and appropriate Direct Controller-Pilot Communications (DCPC) in various stages from
AIRAC 30 June 2011 to AIRAC 12 January 2012.
2. DISCUSSION
Airspace Configuration
2.1 The meeting is reminded of current Afghanistan upper airspace structure in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Current Afghanistan Upper Airspace
2.2 The meeting is advised of BOBCAT airspace configuration prior to
Afghanistan RVSM implementation in 17 November 2011 in Figure 2.
Entry
Waypoint
Route Spacing Parameter Flight Level
LAJAK L509 MURAD M875 10 minutes + 5 minutes F310 | F350 | F390
PAVLO N644 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F310 | F350 | F390
ROSIE L750 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F310 | F350 | F390
ASLUM P628 10 minutes + 5 minutes F310 | F350 | F390
SERKA N636 PAROD P628 10 minutes + 5 minutes F310 | F350 | F390
SERKA UL333 No slot required F310 | F350 | F390
Figure 2: BOBCAT Airspace Configuration before Afghanistan RVSM

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2.3 The meeting is advised of BOBCAT airspace configuration after Afghanistan
RVSM implementation on 17 November 2011 in Figure 3.
Entry
Waypoint
Route Spacing Parameter Flight Level
LAJAK L509 MURAD M875 10 minutes + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
PAVLO N644 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
ROSIE L750 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
ASLUM P628 10 minutes + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
SERKA N636 PAROD P628 10 minutes + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
SERKA UL333 No slot required F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
Figure 3: BOBCAT Airspace Configuration after Afghanistan RVSM
2.4 The meeting should note that implementation of RVSM in Afghanistan was
expected to increase effective airspace capacity between FL280 – FL360 by 40 percent
(excluding UL333).
2.5 The meeting is advised of BOBCAT airspace configuration after RHS Phase
2A implementation on 15 December 2011 in Figure 4.
Entry
Waypoint
Route Spacing Parameter Flight Level
LAJAK L509 MURAD M875 10 minutes + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
PAVLO N644 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
ROSIE L750 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
ASLUM P628 7 (~50NM) + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
SERKA N636 PAROD P628 7 (~50NM) + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
SERKA UL333 No slot required F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
Figure 4: BOBCAT Airspace Configuration after RHS Phase 2A (December 2011)
2.6 The meeting should note that implementation of RHS Phase 2A in
Afghanistan was expected to further increase effective airspace capacity between FL280 –
FL360 by 5 percent (excluding UL333).
2.7 The meeting is advised of BOBCAT airspace configuration after RHS Phase
2B partial implementation in January 2012 in Figure 5.
Entry
Waypoint
Route Spacing Flight Level
LAJAK L509 MURAD M875 7 (~50NM) + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
PAVLO N644 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
ROSIE L750 10 minutes + 5 minutes F280 | F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
ASLUM P628 7 (~50NM) + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
SERKA N636 PAROD P628 7 (~50NM) + 5 minutes F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
SERKA UL333 No slot required F320 | F340 | F360 | F380 | F400
Figure 5: BOBCAT Airspace Configuration after partial RHS Phase 2B (January 2012)

BOBASIO/2–WP /14 -4-
2.8 The meeting should note that partial implementation of RHS Phase 2B in
Afghanistan was expected to further increase effective airspace capacity between FL280 –
FL360 by 5 percent (excluding UL333).
Effect on ATFM Delay
2.9 Defining ATFM delay as difference between latest requested Wheels-Up Time
from last submitted slot request and initial BOBCAT slot allocation, ATFM Delay
comparison between pre-RVSM (1 October – 16 November 2011), post-RVSM (17
November – 14 December 2011), RHS Phase 2A (15 December – 15 January 2012) and RHS
Phase 2B (16 January – 31 March 2012) is presented in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Comparison of ATFM Delay over time
2.10 It can be seen that, while RVSM implementation in Afghanistan helps
reducing ATFM delay by about 20 percent, this could also be attributable to 40 percent
effective capacity increase due to RVSM implementation in Afghanistan airspace. However,
effect from RHS Phase 2A appears to be less pronounced and offset by approximately 5
percent traffic increase beween December 2011 and January 2012.
Flights Entering Afghanistan Airspace in Accordance to Slot Allocation Flight Level
2.11 The meeting is advised that while January 2012 Traffic Sample Data is still
being analyzed, December 2012 Traffic Sample Data (18 – 24 December 2011) includes
traffic after RVSM and RHS Phase 2A implementation.
2.12 Based on December 2011 TSD, approximately 89 percent of aircraft with slot
allocation entered Afghanistan airspace at the same or higher preferred level compared to slot
allocation. This represents a slight dip from normal 90 percent before RVSM and RHS
implementation, which may not be statistically significant.
2.13 Further examination of TSD indicates that major cause of flights not transiting
Afghanistan airspace in accordance to slot allocation flight level remains departure
punctuality and tactical ATC issues followed by EET inaccuracy. This is accompanied by
unexpected short-term increase in flight entering Afghanistan without slot allocation.

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2.14 Moreover, shortly prior to the BOBASIO/2 meeting, there were concerns from
Delhi ACC to the Bangkok ATFMU on airline being unable to transit Afghanistan airspace in
accordance to slot allocation flight level for various reasons.
2.15 Therefore, it could be interpreted that the additional capacity and slot
allocation may end up requiring more pre-tactical planning of flight level allocation prior to
flights entering en route ACC airspace in order to streamline the traffic flow along with other
traffic being handled. Such pre-tactical planning is currently operated in the Bangkok ACC
using Collaborative Departure Planner (CDP) spreadsheet shared over the Internet. It is
expected that CDP functionality would be integrated with current BOBCAT system in some
form, potentially available for adjoining ACCs by Q3 2012 to further enhance overall ANSP
quality of service for flights with and without BOBCAT slots.
2.16 Such update to the BOBCAT system could potentially support upcoming
implementation of Whole-Flight Collaborative Decision Making (Whole-Flight CDM)
currently being jointly developed among aviation partners along Bangkok-Singapore city pair
with cooperation from DCA Malaysia as en route ANSP supported by CANSO.
3. ACTION BY THE MEETING
3.1 The meeting is invited to:
a) note the information contained in this paper; and
b) discuss any relevant matters as appropriate.
………………………….