SESAR members and partners, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH and Fraport AG, are jointly beginning tests of new satellite-based approach procedures at Frankfurt Airport. The aim of these tests is to prove the advantages of curved and steeper approach procedures in the vicinity of airports. The trial period begins in May and will run until August. The tests are part of the Augmented Approaches to Land (AAL) SESAR demonstration project.
Under real conditions, the “required navigation performance to instrument approach (RNP to xLS)” procedure will be tested in Frankfurt. These satellite-based curved approaches guide the aircraft very accurately on both precision approach systems that are available at Frankfurt Airport: The instrument landing system (ILS), which has been proven for decades, and the new system of the future ground-based augmentation system (GBAS). In future the new procedure should help to enable flying in curves in the vicinity of the airport to become more accurate and to further increase aircraft flight track adherence. The lateral course of the new approach procedures are strongly orientated to the low-noise segmented approach procedures known for years. The new feature is that for the first time the north-west runway will be connected to this procedure.
Additionally, the suitability of the procedure in an environment of high traffic density will be investigated at Frankfurt Airport. During test flights the criteria “flight track adherence” and “noise emission” will be especially intensively observed and subsequently evaluated. Besides Bremen and Zurich, Frankfurt is the only European airport to this new procedure during testing. All three airports have the new GBAS satellite-based precision landing system.
Lufthansa will use aircraft models A380, B747-8 as well as three upgraded GBAS-capable A319 for the tests. In addition in a few days a test aircraft from the company Honeywell will fly the new routes. The corresponding flight procedures for the test were developed by the DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH and have already been submitted to the Aircraft Noise Commission. Throughout the entire duration of the tests Fraport will supervise the approach procedures with fixed and mobile flight noise monitoring stations and will subsequently evaluate the data.
With the start of the tests of the new procedures by Fraport, DFS and Lufthansa, the international pioneering role of Frankfurt Airport in research and further development of active noise protection will once again be underlined. The partners involved hope to make an important contribution to greater efficiency and to quieter landing and take-off procedures with this investigation.
Co-funded by the SESAR Joint Undertaking, the AAL project brings together the following companies: NetJets Europe, EBAA, Lufthansa, Swiss, Honeywell Aerospace and Elbit Systems, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, ANS CR, Skyguide with support from DLR and Airbus Pro Sky and DSNA, Dassault Aviation, Airbus, Perigueux, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Ostrava and Bremen airports and large airports (Frankfurt and Zurich Airports).