The key to a successful deployment of A-CDM is a phased approach.

Phase 1 - Arrivals

We are working with our partners to introduce the first phase of A-CDM at Heathrow at the end of March, the Arrivals Portal.  This will involve the availability of accurate arrivals information enabling partners to make better operational decisions.

Phase 2 - Turn-round

During the summer, the turn-round process will be introduced.  The turn-round process is when the aircraft operator or the ground handler carries out safety checks, catering and cleaning of the aircraft.  This process is strictly monitored and regulated.  By combining the outputs from the turn-round process into A-CDM the overall situational awareness on the airport is increased allowing a more robust view to be generated of when aircraft will be ready for departure. This will be commonly called Target of Block time.

Phase 3 - Departures

During the autumn the departures process will be introduced.  This will allow for better planning and resource allocation with the production of a Target Start Approval Time for all aircraft.    

Terminology

To ensure the wider benefits and standardisation of A-CDM across Europe, it has been agreed that interoperability is essential.  Therefore, within the NATS A-CDM application deployed at Heathrow, we will at all times be using the terminology referred to in the EUROCONTROL Airports CDM Implementation Manual