NAV CANADA has begun a project to utilize state-of-the-art weather forecasting technologies — including a new tool that analyzes weather and operational constraints to predict airport capacity — to better manage terminals and airspace.
“Our biggest challenge to predictability is weather,” says Blake Cushnie, program director, Service Delivery, NAV CANADA. “Our weather issues include winter storms, crosswinds, and thunderstorms in the terminal area. We want to get better knowledge on the timing and intensity of the weather, and translate that into the [potential] impact on operations. If it can be more predictable, we can better manage the impact.”
To achieve those goals, NAV CANADA is partnering with the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, an independent, federally funded research and development center located in Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S., and managed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Tom G. Reynolds, leader of the lab’s Air Traffic Co…
