Analysis of pilot intent parameters in air traffic management

The current air traffic control infrastructure specifies detailed flight procedures for commercial airliners. Due to heavy traffic intensity and the mixture of IFR and VFR traffic at major airports, there have been several near-miss scenarios and some major mid-air collisions. Development of airborne collision avoidance system becomes necessary, and it has been realized that exchange of pilot flight intents is highly beneficial to resolving conflicts. In the proposed free flight environment, aircraft operators can alter their flight plans in real time without a priori approval of ground controllers, and it is crucial for aircraft operators to communicate their intentions to ground controllers and to other aircraft operators. This paper lists several groups of parameters that can potentially be used as intent parameters. Merits of these parameters are discussed. Distinctions are made between short term intents for tactical conflict avoidance, and long term intents for flow management