Definition

Airspace management. The process by which airspace options are selected and applied to meet the needs of the ATM community.

Source: ICAO Doc 9854 Global Air Traffic Management Operational Concept

Airspace management (ASM). The process by which airspace options are selected and applied to meet the needs of the airspace users.

Source: ICAO Cir 330-AN/189: Civil/Military Cooperation in Air Traffic Management

Description

Safety is the primary objective of air operations. Sometimes it can only be achieved by segregating a portion of the airspace for the conduct of specific activities (e.g. military exercises, parachute jumping, air shows, etc.) so that they do not present a hazard to the "normal" commercial operations (i.e. transportation of passengers and cargo). However, airspace is a limited resource and it is not always possibe to accomodate all such needs at the same time. It is therefore necessary to establish a system that can optimize the use of airspace. This has lead to the development of airspace management (ASM).

The objective of ASM is to maximize, within a given airspace structure, the utilization of available airspace by dynamic time-sharing and, at times, segregation of airspace among various categories of users based on short-term needs. This is accomplished by the following processes:

• collection of requests for temporary airspace allocation
• evaluation of the requests and allocation of airspace to the users where segregation is necessary. This includes both space and time restrictions.
• dissemination of detailed information, both in advance and in real time, to all parties concerned, about the airspace-related activities
• activation or de-activation of reserved airspace within adequately narrow time tolerances

Balancing the competing interests for airspace use is a complex and challenging task. In order to achieve optimal utilization, the following principles should be adhered to:

• all available airspace should be managed flexibly (as opposed to designating portions of it to a single user)
• airspace management processes should accommodate dynamic flight trajectories and provide optimum operational solutions
• when conditions require different types of traffic (e.g. military, UAS, etc.) to be segregated by airspace organization, the size, shape, and time regulation of that airspace should be set so as to minimize the impact on operations
• airspace use should be coordinated and monitored in order to accommodate the conflicting requirements of all users and to minimize any constraints on operations
• airspace reservations should be planned in advance with changes made dynamically whenever possible. The system also needs to accommodate short-notice unplanned requirements

It should be noted, though, that complexity of operations may limit the degree of flexibility.

Related Articles

• Air Traffic Management (ATM)
• Air Traffic Service (ATS)
• Flexible Use of Airspace
• U-space

Further Reading

• ICAO Doc 9426: ATS Planning Manual
• ICAO Doc 9854: Global Air Traffic Management Operational Concept