Saab to Deploy Aerobahn DMAN for Proactive Management of Departures During Runway Construction at San Francisco International Airport

Defense and security company Saab has announced that its Aerobahn Departure Manager (DMAN) has been selected by Parsons Brinckerhoff, lead project engineer, to provide a departure metering system and services at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) during the airport’s upcoming runway construction project. The Aerobahn DMAN will enable airport stakeholders to proactively manage and optimally sequence departures during the project to ensure capacity and throughput are maintained and delays minimized.

Built on the Aerobahn airport surface management platform, the Aerobahn DMAN provides airline and terminal operators with automated flight metering assignments based on airline schedules and departure rates as determined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Aerobahn DMAN allocates to each flight a recommended push back time and associated movement area transition spot, or alternate metering location, to coordinate the introduction of flights to the movement area controlled by the FAA. Each airline or terminal operator retains control over which flights are assigned to their allocations to meet their individual operational goals. Saab will also manage and staff a Departure Metering Coordination Center thought its partner, Robinson Aviation, Inc., to continually manage requests from airlines/terminal operators as needs arise.

“Aerobahn DMAN has demonstrated significant benefits, validated by a third party, in day-to-day operational use at JFK by proactively managing departure queues to ensure runway throughput and reduced taxi times,” said Ken Kaminski, general manager of Saab ATM. “At San Francisco, Aerobahn DMAN will help mitigate costs and reduce operational impact associated with the runway closures by ensuring each available departure slot is utilized with the right aircraft in position at the right place and at the right time.”

The Aerobahn Product Suite (Surface Manager, Departure Manager, Airport Status Dashboard and De-icing Manager) is improving the efficiency and collaboration of airport authorities, airlines and air navigation service providers. It is the industry’s most widely-deployed airport operations management system, currently in use at 26 airports world-wide, including five of the 10 busiest airports in the U.S. (Atlanta, Denver, New York - JFK, Charlotte and Phoenix International Airports). Aerobahn DMAN has helped JFK reduce yearly fuel costs by $13 Million and CO2 emissions by 43,000 metric tons.