Guidebook for Developing Ramp Control Facilities (2017)

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1 Introduction 1.1 Why Is This Guidebook Needed? Many U.S. airports experience aircraft congestion in the non-movement areas of their airport. This congestion is often attributed to compacted demand for gate space and/or inefficient terminal/gate configurations. This can result in delays for aircraft and passengers as well as create risks to ground crew safety. To manage this type of congestion, some large and medium hubs have implemented ramp control management efforts and procedures; however, airport ramp control efforts vary widely. This variance is due to three major factors: • No common definition of ramp control exists in the industry, • No guidance or regulations [such as Advisory Circulars (ACs)] on ramp control management have been promulgated, and • No requirements have been created or standardized for those conducting ramp control activi- ties [e.g., standard operating procedures (SOPs) or certification processes]. At the time of this printing, 28 airports in the U.S. currently engage in ramp control activi- ties (see Appendix E). Among these airports, ramp control services are conducted by either an airline, the airport, or a third party under contract to the airport. In some cases, a combination of these parties provides ramp control service. At only two airports are ramp control activities conducted solely by airport personnel—Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and McCarran International Airport (LAS). Of the airports interviewed as part of this guidance, those that decided to take on ramp con- trol responsibility said they did so for reasons unique to their own airport management vision, e.g., to avoid conflicts between competing airlines (to ensure equitable distribution of access), to support a common-use operating environment, or to resolve/mitigate ramp-related safety and/or operational challenges when no airline was willing to take on ramp control responsibility. Considering the changes in the markets served by the airlines that have occurred over the past few years, creating or increasing air traffic demand where none or little existed, the potential for increased delays at many airports due to ramp congestion or lack of gate availability has grown. Airports experiencing these types of operational challenges may want to consider various options for managing ramps and/or gate usage in order to more effectively monitor and control these areas, even though that may require an effort to modify or renegotiate existing tenant agreements. In many airport situations, effective ramp control has reduced ramp congestion through better managed decision making, which enables the airport to maximize gate usage and optimize use of available ramp space. This guidance may also be helpful as airports consider the implications of emerging technolo- gies that have the potential to enhance situational awareness related to surface traffic manage- ment. New technologies are anticipated to link an airport’s surface operations to the capacity C h a p t e r 1

2 Guidebook for Developing ramp Control Facilities and efficiency constraints routinely experienced in the National Airspace System (NAS), which has the potential to give those managing ramps the “big picture.” This guidance is in no way meant to imply either that ramp control is needed at every airport or that it will cover all that must be considered before setting the airport on the course to imple- menting ramp control. However, for those airports that wish to consider ramp control, either now or in the future, this guidance is designed to assist airport operators through the decision- making process (this guidebook) and an accompanying ramp control decision-making sup- port tool (Decision Support Tool) (available for download from the report summary page at http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/175172.aspx). Both of these can help airport operators first determine their ramp-related operational challenges and then help them decide whether these challenges or constraints could be effectively mitigated through ramp control. In cases where ramp control is determined to be a viable airport option, this guidance provides further assis- tance in helping airports determine which entity should be responsible for ramp control and what type of technology (e.g., on-site, virtual tower) would be most appropriate. 1.2 What Is Ramp Control? During initial interviews with personnel from passenger airlines, cargo operators, and airport operators, the research team found the primary reason that no single common definition of ramp control exists is because each airport is unique; each has its own staffing plan, and tailors ramp con- trol activities to fit its specific needs. Because of this, interview definitions given for ramp control ranged from controlling the movement of aircraft in the non-movement area to controlling the ground personnel responsible for physically pushing an aircraft off the gate. Therefore, the definition below is a culmination of ramp control activities at airports that were interviewed. For the purpose of this guidebook, ramp control can be defined as the activities undertaken by a non-FAA entity at an airport that: • Provides guidance and direction to all aircraft moving within the control entity’s area of jurisdiction: – For departing aircraft, typical instructions include providing pushback and disconnect point, and coordination with air traffic control (ATC). – For arriving aircraft, instructions include providing gate and ramp entrance information, if appropriate. • Sequences departing aircraft to the designated transition point (spot) on the ground and issuing traffic advisories, as necessary. • Coordinates arriving and departing aircraft hand-offs with ATC, including situations when aircraft enter the ramp but are unable to clear active taxiways. • Resolves conflicts with aircraft that are arriving, departing, or under tow within their area of jurisdiction. However: – Ramp control personnel do not resolve conflicts with vehicles or personnel moving on the ramp. Ramp controllers normally issue advisories to aircraft taxiing in the ramp (apron) area. – Ramp personnel (those performing pushback or marshalling aircraft) are responsible for ensuring aircraft do not come in contact with other aircraft, equipment, or buildings. 1.3 Who Is the Guidance For? This guidance has been primarily designed for use by airport operators who do not currently manage ramp control operations but are experiencing or anticipate experiencing one or more of the following issues that could impact ramp operations:

Introduction 3 • As a possible way to mitigate a safety issue either currently being experienced or that may be created with growth. • Growth in airport demand, including new flight operators. • Construction that may affect operations at the airport for the long term (e.g., building new terminals, adding additional gates) as well as short-term projects that result in the temporary closure of runways or taxiways. • Administrative decisions that affect operations at the airport (e.g., changes to or expansion of common-use gates). • Potential changes in airfield operations due to the implementation of evolving FAA Next Generation technologies [e.g., surface management, terminal flight data manager (TFDM)]. Additionally, this guidance may be used by airports that currently have ramp control and want to validate or consider modifying current management options. 1.4 How to Use the Guidebook To best use this guidebook, it is recommended that airport management identify a point per- son who will be responsible for carrying out all of the necessary tasks outlined in this document, coordinating between all interested stakeholders, and developing an environment conducive to communication and collaboration. See Figure 1 for a description of this guidebook and the accompanying Decision Support Tool. The icons in the figure are used throughout to alert the user as to the appropriate guidance. The decision process described in this guidebook utilizes a series of questions meant to foster critical thinking about the ramp-related problems an airport is interested in solving while also encouraging stakeholder involvement. The questions are designed to probe shared goals and objectives as well as ramp solutions. An airport operator (also referred to as a “user” in this document) can continue to delve further into the details of the considerations itemized in the guidebook in order to reach a final decision on whether or not to start up ramp control at an airport. For this purpose, the user may use the questions that are contained in Appendix A. Both the decision process described in this guidebook and the Decision Support Tool can be used for planning, as well as serve as a resource for airport operators to use when new or unforeseen ramp-related conditions occur. Guidebook—describes the ramp control decision process that guides the airport operator and stakeholders through a number of consideration topics and questions in order to determine whether the airport has ramp-related operational constraints that could be resolved or mitigated by implementation of ramp control. Decision Support Tool—an easy-to-use, graphical user interface (GUI) aid that guides the user through the four-step decision process and allows him/her to create a record of his/her responses. The responses can be generated into HTML-formatted reports and printed and shared with stakeholders. Figure 1. Two-part guidance.

4 Guidebook for Developing ramp Control Facilities This guidebook is organized as follows: • Chapter 1, Introduction: This chapter provides background about the research project and explains the purpose and organization of the guidebook. • Chapter 2, Decision Process and Decision Support Tool: This chapter describes the four- step process in detail, including the important aspect of information sharing. Steps 1, 2, and 3 have associated questions found in Appendix A, as well as in the Decision Support Tool, that will help the user determine if there is a ramp-related operational challenge that ramp control could resolve or mitigate and how significant the problem is. In Step 4, users can then evalu- ate the various areas of concern to help determine the best candidates for performing ramp control and which locations are most ideal for managing ramp control. • Chapter 3, Initial and Recurring Costs: This chapter describes how potential costs and benefits associated with various ramp management options and locations may be evaluated and compared against one another in order to help weigh various ramp control options under consideration. • Chapter 4, Implementation: This chapter describes many of the steps that should be consid- ered once the decision to implement ramp control has been made. • Chapter 5, Summary: This chapter provides a brief summary of research results, which may lead to further study on ramp control. In addition to a list of references, a glossary of terms, and acronyms, this guidebook includes several appendices: • Appendix A, Questions Associated with Steps 1–3: This appendix contains the questions associated with Steps 1, 2, and 3. The questions in this appendix may be copied for indi- viduals to document their responses; however, the same questions are provided in the Deci- sion Support Tool. Using the Decision Support Tool will make documentation easier as it has a reporting feature. In the tool, some responses to questions will prompt the user to answer additional follow-on questions. Additionally, some of the questions in the tool allow for free- text responses. • Appendix B, Initial and Recurring Costs: This appendix includes the initial and recurring costs associated with implementing ramp control from the airport operator’s perspective. • Appendix C, Advantages and Disadvantages: This appendix lists the advantages and dis- advantages of each of the consideration topics. The responses are written from the airport operator’s perspective. • Appendix D, Lessons Learned: This appendix describes lessons learned from the perspectives of the various stakeholders that perform ramp control. This information was obtained during the data gathering phases and during this research project’s validation workshops. • Appendix E, Airports with Ramp Control: This appendix lists the airports that currently man- age ramp control operations, whether through airport, airline, third party, or a combination of these efforts. Airports are listed by region and by type of stakeholder that performs ramp control. • Appendix F, Technology Considerations: This appendix describes a few examples of tech- nology that is being developed or utilized that should be considered by an airport operator. • Appendix G, Staffing Considerations: This appendix describes the various factors to consider when determining staffing options for a ramp control facility. 1.5 Collaboration Is a Key to Success During the development of this guidebook and during the validation reviews, one clear mes- sage emerged: for the decision-making process to be successful, collaboration is paramount. Therefore, all of the stakeholders who may be affected by the decision to pursue ramp control

Introduction 5 need to be included in the decision-making process. Generally, stakeholders include the FAA, major air carriers, fixed-base operators (FBOs), de-icing operators, or other stakeholders based on the local airport situation. Including these parties, whether through face-to-face meetings or “community partnership” efforts, can help the airport be proactive rather than reactive in addressing airport challenges. Furthermore, the airport operator is typically in the best position to bring the stakeholders together and champion this collaborative effort.