Jack, Traffic Management Initiatives (TMI) <https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/foa_html/chap18_section_7.html> TYPES OF TMIs 1. Tunneling- Term to indicate aircraft will be descended prior to the normal descent point to avoid airspace or traffic constraints. 2. Capping- Term to indicate aircraft will be cleared to an altitude lower than their requested altitude until they are clear of a particular airspace. Capping may apply to the initial segment of the flight or for the entire flight. 3. Low Altitude Arrival/Departure Routing (LAADR). A set of routings with altitude expectations for usage in times of capacity constraints in the NAS <https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/pcg_html/glossary-n.html#$NAS> . LAADR may apply to the departure or the arrival phase of flight. LAADR requires a written agreement with the customers prior to implementing. 4. Miles‐in‐trail (MIT). The number of miles required between aircraft that meet specific criteria. The criteria may be airport, fix, altitude, sector, or route specific. MIT are used to apportion traffic into manageable flows, as well as, provide space for additional traffic (merging or departing) to enter the flow of traffic. 5. Minutes‐in‐trail (MINIT). The number of minutes required between successive aircraft. It is normally used in a nonradar environment, or when transitioning to a nonradar environment, or additional spacing is required due to aircraft deviating around weather. 6. Fix balancing. Assigning an aircraft a fix other than in the filed flight plan in the arrival or departure phase of flight to equitably distribute demand. Michael xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx R. Michael Baiada cell - (303) 521-6047 <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] From: Jack Keady via Mifnet <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 11:17 To: ATHGroup--- via Mifnet <[email protected]> Cc: Jack Keady <[email protected]> Subject: [Mifnet 🚀 72651] Re: Missing ATC Element? Keady - what is "capping/tunneling"? On Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 11:08:58 AM PDT, ATHGroup--- via Mifnet <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: There is a critical ATC system element missing in all of the equipment replacement discussions - process.
Since the inception of Positive Control Airspace in 1958, ATC has morphed from a safety/separation process to a full-on aircraft control process. And it has does this while essentially leaving out two thirds of the system - the airlines/operators and pilots. For decades, ATC systems have added more and more control elements to the ATC system and forced them on the shoulders of the ATC controllers, which adds unnecessary stress to controllers, pilots, airports and the entire ATC system. These include the Ground Delay Program (GDP), weather reroutes, Swap routes (CDRs, playbook routes, FEA/FCAs, capping/tunneling, AFPs, etc.), airport slots, Central Flow Management departure times, etc. It is long past time for ATC to focus on safety/separation and leave the management of the movement of the aircraft to the airline/operator. Of course, airlines need to step up and take over the real time, “day of” management over the movement of their aircraft to offload ATC to reduce system stress and integrate the airline’s business needs into the flow. This alone would have a huge positive impact on our aviation infrastructure. Finally, as I have said over and over again, ATC can't make airlines/operators efficient. They never could, never have and never will. This is not their job. ATC’s job is safety and separation, not airline/operator efficiency. Only each individual airline/operator has the internal capability, communication and data (schedule, connections, gate availability, crew legality, fuel on board, maintenance, etc.) to make their operation efficient. Michael xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx R. Michael Baiada cell - (303) 521-6047 [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
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