ENAIRE improves touchdowns in Barcelona-El Prat Airport by redesigning its airspace

The new approach manoeuvres help expedite and optimise air traffic flowENAIRE, the company of the Fomento Group that manages air navigation in Spain, is implementing new approach manoeuvres at Barcelona-El Prat Airport.

The BRAIN project (“Barcelona RNAV Approach Innovations”) has been entered within the framework of ENAIRE's Summer Plan, and it includes a package of initiatives that entail an increase in the number of air controllers and measures to improve the air space and some of operational-technical nature, as well as measures to supervise the system and manage incidents.

In BRAIN's specific case, the project aims to optimise and expedite the traffic flow, reducing the complexity of manoeuvres in all configurations, improving the distribution of arrivals and reducing the number of waits in the air and near the airport.

ENAIRE is providing the airport with a new "trombone" approach procedures (‘baptised’ this way due to its design being similar to the oval shape of this musical instrument), by means of a structure of points that allows optimising the aircraft’s trajectory before they land.

Pilots, with an appropriately equipped aircraft, will be able to fly in an area that is more adjusted to their needs within a series of routes defined by ENAIRE using a structure of points. As a result of ENAIRE's commitment towards environmental sustainability, airlines will be able to optimise the trajectory of aircraft, thus improving their operating efficiency and achieving greater predictability in trajectories (more efficient flights). This will achieve
a further standardisation of operations and a reduction of radiocommunication with air traffic controllers, reducing their workload.

If the aircraft is not equipped with RNAV technology -which enables the pilot to fly closer to other aircraft, use straighter routes and save time and fuel, with the consequent capacity increase of the airspace-, it will have to inform ENAIRE's Air Traffic Control Centre in Barcelona with enough time in advance, and ENAIRE will guide its trajectory.

ENAIRE has been holding meetings with the main airlines that operate in Barcelona-El Prat Airport and with the airport manager Aena to keep them updated at all times regarding the implementation of the BRAIN Project and the benefits stemming from a very relevant initiative that has been entered in ENAIRE's 2020 Flight Plan, specifically the Airspace Capacity and Efficiency Plan.

ENAIRE has conducted additional tests in cooperation with database providers and airlines to prepare all the details required before implementing this redesign of airspace. The new manoeuvres have been planned to be in place this Thursday 26 of April in headers of runways 07/25 and on 24 May on runway 02.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the public company that reports to the Ministry of Public Works, which manages (through its 5 control centres, 22 towers and a network of aeronautical infrastructure and equipment) the fourth largest airspace in Europe in terms of traffic volume. The air traffic managed by ENAIRE transports more than 250 million passengers on 2 million flights per year.