A report by Eurocontrol, the European organization for the safety of air navigation, has praised Finnish airport operator Finavia for its collaborative decision making (CDM) operating method, adopted at Helsinki Airport in Finland.
The evaluation investigated the impact of the CDM operating method at the airport between January 2014 and January 2015, with particular attention paid to aircraft delays, operational accuracy, use of resources and cost efficiency. It showed that with CDM, airlines, the airport owner and other companies operating at the airport saved up to €4m (US$4.2m) annually. Delays and the airport’s environmental impact were also greatly reduced.
The essence of the CDM operating method is to improve the flow of information between airport operators and to promote deeper cooperation between aircraft arrival and departure. The evaluation showed that between the dates investigated, Helsinki Airport’s taxiing times decreased by a total of 60,000 minutes, the equivalent of nearly 42 days. This led to a total fuel saving of approximately 800 tons, with carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions decreasing by 2,600 tons and 0.7 tons respectively. The benefits achieved translated into costs savings of €650,000 (US$687,500) in fuel and €3.5m (US$3.7m) in shorter delays.
Heini Noronen-Juhola, Helsinki Airport’s deputy director at Finavia, said, “The evaluation confirmed the observations that we have compiled in regard to CDM use. The benefits mostly align with what we anticipated when introducing the new operating method in 2012.
“Thanks to CDM, airlines will save money. The main benefits of CDM to Finavia are based on operations being easier to predict and that we will be capable of using our infrastructure more effectively than before.”
