In the first week of July, the AEON Consortium met in Toulouse at the ENAC facilities to carry out the final evaluation of the operational concept that integrates engine-off taxiing techniques such as TaxiBots, E-Taxi, WheelTugs and Single-Engine Taxiing.
The evaluation of AEON’s solution began almost a year ago when the Consortium asked the Advisory Board for its views on the preliminary concept of operations provided by the project. In April, AEON carried out two internal evaluations at renovated airports like Charles de Gaulle (Paris Airport) and Schiphol (Amsterdam).
Thanks to the support of both airports and the air traffic controllers who have supported us over the last year, it has been possible to evaluate the algorithms for fleet management, path planning, and the actors involved.
The solution assessment aims to foster the adoption of engine-off techniques by refining the project CONOPS. The Final Evaluation considered several Key Performance Areas (KPAs) to provide the aviation industry with meaningful results. The Consortium analysed the solution’s impact on human actors, such as ATCs, Ground Handlers, Pilots and two new roles: the Tug Fleet Manager and the Tug Driver.
Changes in a complex system can also pose safety and liability concerns, so AEON considered these aspects too. Furthermore, AEON assessed the costs and benefits of each taxiing technique, taking into account the effects on airport capacity, efficiency, and the environment.
All the results from the different evaluation phases will help the Consortium refine the preliminary concept of operations. The Final Version of the project solution will be issued by November 2022.
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