Positive identification of aircraft on airport movement area-results of FAA trials

Current operational airport surface surveillance systems do not positively identify aircraft as unique targets. Air traffic controllers are instead presented with a primary radar picture showing all traffic on the airport movement area. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is evaluating different types of systems that will add the aircraft´s call-sign or flight number to the radar image thereby allowing controllers to positively identify individual aircraft at all times. This paper describes the development, implementation, and testing of the airport surface target identification system (ATIDS), and presents results of initial trials conducted at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport