Development and operational transition of the first PBN-enabled departure separation standard

In 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prioritized Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) capabilities of its Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and committed to implementing high-priority innovations within the next three years. For 2015, the commitments include the issuance of a national standard for PBN-enabled Equivalent Lateral Spacing Operation (ELSO) departures and ELSO implementations at airports throughout the United States (US) National Airspace System (NAS). Beginning in 2011, flight validations of ELSO-based reduced-divergence procedures at The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (KATL) demonstrated operational benefits and validated the ELSO concept for the development of the standard. The standard will enable the NAS-wide use of PBN departure procedures with a reduced minimum divergence of 10 degrees instead of the 15 degrees currently required to conduct simultaneous parallel and successive departure operations. This paper describes the process, from inception to integration into the NAS that pioneered the first PBN-enabled reduced separation standard for departures. Further work to identify candidate airports for application and activities supporting the harmonization of PBN-based separation standards in the global air transportation system are also discussed.