Trajectory-based operations (TBO) is an air traffic management method that is built on the premise that every aircraft’s exact position throughout a flight is forecast well ahead of departure. The TBO concept — being developed and implemented by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NAV CANADA, and the iTEC Alliance of seven European countries and Canada — is intended to make aviation operations safer and more efficient.
An aircraft trajectory is defined in four dimensions — latitude, longitude, altitude, and time.
Dr. Tom G. Reynolds, group leader of the Air Traffic Control Systems Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, says, “One of the key enablers for TBO is the ability to accurately control the precise time aircraft arrive at key …
