New technologies will make airports more efficient and prevent flights from being delayed.

Question

NASA created an advanced electronic traffic monitor designed for air traffic management. It improves efficiency and safety by coordinating aircraft movements both in the air and on the ground.

Answer 1

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60228430

One strategy to reduce delays is the increased use of high-tech monitoring technology, to help airports and airlines run more efficiently.

Israeli startup, IntellAct, is one such provider. The company says most departure delays are within an airline's control and many stem from so-called turnaround services - the aircraft being cleaned, refuelled and restocked, or luggage being removed and loaded.

Using airport operators and airlines' existing security and observation cameras, IntellAct's artificial intelligence (AI) software system can automatically detect delays in these turnaround services.

It can then highlight the problem to airport staff or ground crew and suggest a mitigation plan in real time. For example, if a fuel truck arrives late, IntellAct can detect this and recommend 'parallel boarding'. This is where passengers board while the aircraft is being fuelled - it requires a fire engine to be present as a safety precaution.

Answer 2

Yes, NASA's ATD-2 project better predicts airport traffic conditions. It helps isolate the best time for departing flights to push back from the gate, reducing delays. It has been successfully tested with the FAA and airlines. The ATD-3 project provides pilots and traffic managers with information allowing efficient course corrections for a flight when bad weather suddenly appears.

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/ames/nasa-delivers-on-making-gate-to-gate-flights-more-efficient/#:~:text=NASA's%20ATD%2D2%20project%20has,gate%2C%20reducing%20delays%20for%20passengers.