Changi delays

[SuperJonJon]

I've been getting 'luckier' lately, too

Baby shower soon?

I would have to say that I have encountered less congestion circling these few weeks.

[SQGamespeed]

I've been getting 'luckier' lately, too

I would have to say that I have encountered less congestion circling these few weeks.

That's great encouraging news! Hopefully they keep up this consistency when I head up to Singapore in two weeks. I REALLY don't want to circle again like I did the last few times I landed.

[MAN Flyer]

Better late than never I suppose....

A key milestone in the plans to build Singapore as a Centre of Excellence for Air Traffic Management (ATM) was achieved this week as the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) sealed four foundational collaboration agreements with leading American and European organisations.

The four organisations - the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), SESAR Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU), The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) and Airbus Prosky - are drivers or significant participants in major ATM modernisation programmes, such as the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) in the United States (US) and the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) in Europe.

The four agreements were signed over two days - 19 and 20 November 2012 - at the sidelines of the 12th International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Navigation Conference held in Montreal, Canada.

The partnership agreements will set in motion a wide range of collaborative activities, including research & development, test-bedding and validation of ATM concepts, technologies and solutions for the continued safety and efficiency of the growing air traffic in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. These include ways and means to maximise airspace capacity, optimise aircraft operations and enhance air navigation services operational and human performance.

“CAAS is pleased to sign agreements with the four leading organisations to advance ATM research and development in Singapore under our Centre of Excellence for ATM initiative. With their extensive experience and expertise in ATM modernisation, these organisations will bring significant value to the development of ATM solutions for Singapore and the Asia Pacific region,” said Mr Yap Ong Heng, Director-General, CAAS. “Collaborating with partners from other regions will also contribute to ATM harmonisation and interoperability across regions in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Aviation System Block Upgrade (ASBU) framework.”

The four agreements concluded are as follows:

Statement of Intent with FAA: FAA is managing the overall implementation of the NextGen programme. Under this Statement of Intent, areas of potential FAA-CAAS ATM cooperation include R&D activities to advance ATM modernisation, sharing of information, knowledge and expertise to improve operational performance in the provision of air navigation services; sharing and adaptation of best practices, and proof of concept to demonstrate and validate new ATM concepts.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MITRE: MITRE provides technical expertise and support to various international civil aviation authorities, airport operators, airlines, and other aviation organisations in the areas of ATM systems engineering, aviation operations, airspace design and systems automation and integration. Under this MOU, CAAS and MITRE will explore cooperation in ATM R&D initiatives and projects with an emphasis on improving safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental aspects of Singapore and the Asia Pacific region’s aviation operations and infrastructure; sharing of knowledge and technology in the areas of ATM, safety and regulation issues; and support and the availing of resources required to establish the required capabilities and infrastructure that support ATM R&D activities in Singapore.

Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the SESAR JU: SESAR JU is leading the Single European Sky ATM R&D efforts. Under this MOC, areas of cooperation include the sharing of information, knowledge and expertise; cooperation in activities, notably under ICAO; proof of concept to demonstrate and validate initiatives undertaken collaboratively; and collaboration in development activities to realise their respective ATM modernisation programmes and in research activities to develop ATM concepts, solutions and technologies for the next generation of ATM systems. This MOC gives Singapore valuable opportunities to partner with more than 125 members and associate partners who are all established ATM entities in the SESAR JU consortium. The MOC follows a Letter of Intent that was signed between CAAS and SESAR JU on 13 February 2012.

Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with Airbus ProSky: Airbus ProSky is a subsidiary of aircraft manufacturer Airbus (which is one of the 15 members of the SESAR JU), dedicated to improving the performance of global ATM. The areas of cooperation under this MOC include R&D, in particular coordination of initiatives and projects and their execution; participation in joint projects of common interest, including proof of concepts demonstrating and validating new operational procedures and systems; cooperation in activities to explore, develop and evaluate new ATM concepts and systems for enhancement of ATM efficiency; and sharing of technical knowledge in terms of ATM, safety and regulation issues through workshops and exchanges.

[9V-SIA]

Changi Airport to boost aircraft handling by 40%

Headline news in both Straits Times & TODAY

LHR is 1,227-ha and had 476,000 aircraft movements last year
SIN is larger at 1,300-ha yet had only 301,700 movements

CAAS has plans to increase Changi Airport's capacity by 40% ( 430,000 aircraft movements )

Hired UK consultant to determine potential capacity for SIN based on existing infrastructure

Improvements made so far:

• Interval for take off/landings reduced from 120 secs to 90 secs
• Reducing time of scheduled runway closures
• Flight routes reconfigured

Further improvements:

• Terminal 4 is being built
• Third runway under consideration

Projected air traffic growth is 5% annually so Changi feels 430,000 capacity sufficient.

Whole article here: http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/E...handling-by-40

But with 2015 Open Skies agreement, is projection too conservative?

http://www.todayonline.com/Commentar...e-ASEAN-skies?

[CarbonMan]

40% is a seriously huge number. Wonder why it took an expensive consultant to tell Changi that? Perhaps some in CAAS knew what they needed to do but in the interest of CYA, they got NATS to say it on their behalf just in case some accident occurs.

[flyguy]

thank goodness the morning runway congestion and delays in the earlier half of this year is gone - and these lastquarter have seen improvements but still do see occasional delays with 4 planes waiting to take-off.
But am surprised that Changi did develop the runway and ATC delays from last year to 3rd quarter of this year - when in fact it should not have been the case for Changi being supposedly a world class airport. Back then it did mentioned the "shortage" of Air Traffic controllers too - which again is surprising as there should have been forward thinking and projections before it had even lead to such an issue.

[MAN Flyer]

I haven't flown in and out of Changi as much as normal recently so no idea if it's a return to the bad old days but we were 45 minutes late departing on SQ972 yesterday due to 'congestion'.

[SilverChris]

My flight from KUL a few days was put in a holding pattern, though the captain told us to keep ourselves entertained with the views of downtown Singapore Landed 15 minutes behind schedule.

[flyguy]

sadlythe morning peak hours from 730am to 11am is congested again recently. On 7 Oct my flight from T1 is scheduled for 910am and the plane was ready by 915am and we waited for 10 mins before push back and then waited as No 5 to take off on runway 02C and finally begin take off roll at 945am - 30 mins behind schedule. Similiarly on 16 Oct I was again on the same 910am flight and we wereready for push back but was held back by 15 mins and by the time we taxi to again runway 02C we were No 6 for take off - andafter waiting for some time we geban our take off roll at 955am! - 45 mins delay - which was actually longer than the actual flight time of 40 mins.
On both occassions when i am in the transit area i could see planes landing on runway 02R and it was few in between between 730am and 9am - but could see already planes were waiting in queue to take off from runway 02C.
It is a surprise to see that Changi only uses one runway for take off and the morning peak for departures meant a constant stream of planes waiting to takeoff - and why didnt Changi uses runway 02R fortake off as well as landing was few in between to reduce the congestion. In the past i have seen and on board when the 2 runways were used for take offs. Is Changi still facing a lack of ATCs? Whilst Changi airport have won few accolates,but it cant be said the same for the aircraft congestion.

[FSJZ]

sadlythe morning peak hours from 730am to 11am is congested again recently. On 7 Oct my flight from T1 is scheduled for 910am and the plane was ready by 915am and we waited for 10 mins before push back and then waited as No 5 to take off on runway 02C and finally begin take off roll at 945am - 30 mins behind schedule. Similiarly on 16 Oct I was again on the same 910am flight and we wereready for push back but was held back by 15 mins and by the time we taxi to again runway 02C we were No 6 for take off - andafter waiting for some time we geban our take off roll at 955am! - 45 mins delay - which was actually longer than the actual flight time of 40 mins.
On both occassions when i am in the transit area i could see planes landing on runway 02R and it was few in between between 730am and 9am - but could see already planes were waiting in queue to take off from runway 02C.
It is a surprise to see that Changi only uses one runway for take off and the morning peak for departures meant a constant stream of planes waiting to takeoff - and why didnt Changi uses runway 02R fortake off as well as landing was few in between to reduce the congestion. In the past i have seen and on board when the 2 runways were used for take offs. Is Changi still facing a lack of ATCs? Whilst Changi airport have won few accolates,but it cant be said the same for the aircraft congestion.

Airport congestion during the morning peak hours may be due to several reasons. There might be an unplanned maintenance of one runway, which forced ATC to divert all traffic onto the other runway. But this is very rare and is generally avoided during peak hours.

Another might be due to ground movements. Generally, to prevent long taxi times, planes at T3 and C gates in T1 use 02L/20R, and planes at T2 and D gates at T1 use 02C/20C.

And Changi Airport has been experimenting using dual taxiways on takeoff. At the end of every runway, there are two parallel taxiways (on 02C, that is E10 and E11). Smaller planes will use E10 and have priority for takeoff, as their wake turbulence category is lower. Bigger planes will use E11 and might be asked to give way to smaller planes, because the wake turbulence separation after takeoff is much longer.

[flying.monkeyz]

Now with the airshow rehearsals and aerial displays and the resulting airspace closure, practically all arrival flights in late afternoons are placed on holding patterns. Some pilots heard on liveatc.net also indicated to ATC that they're low on fuel and can't hold anymore. Not pleasant at all for passengers coming into WSSS during the late afternoon.

[Kyo]

We circled for 35 mins today from BKK on SQ975. And didn't get to see the A350 either...

[SQ22]

Am in Changi South. Take-off are 'quiet' but you can certainly the landings into 02L. You get used to it. Bozzie too...

Tell me about it! I live in Punggol. Overflights by RSAF fighter jets taking off from Paya Lebar Air Base are something residents here have gotten used to but still very irritated by. It's time we got together to collect overflight fees from them. Airspace is precious commodity.

[boing]

Tell me about it! I live in Punggol. Overflights by RSAF fighter jets taking off from Paya Lebar Air Base are something residents here have gotten used to but still very irritated by. It's time we got together to collect overflight fees from them. Airspace is precious commodity.

I live in Tampines, right smack in the middle of Paya Lebar Airbase and Changi airport. Fighter jet noises are a norm from PLB ever since I moved in. The weird thing is, I started hearing GE90 engine starting in the early hours of the night a few years ago ! Thought I was hallucinating until a few colleagues of mine told me they could hear it as well. So I have fighter jets and the odd helicopter in the day and turbofan engines taking off and starting in the night.

[flying.monkeyz]

I live in Tampines, right smack in the middle of Paya Lebar Airbase and Changi airport. Fighter jet noises are a norm from PLB ever since I moved in. The weird thing is, I started hearing GE90 engine starting in the early hours of the night a few years ago ! Thought I was hallucinating until a few colleagues of mine told me they could hear it as well. So I have fighter jets and the odd helicopter in the day and turbofan engines taking off and starting in the night.

Paya Lebar Airbase is not just an airbase but an MRO base as well, so you do see commercial jets going in for maintenance.