The challenge of managing air traffic

The continuous growth of air traffic in the last decades presents a considerable challenge for the air traffic management system. Therefore, it is crucial to develop strategies that safely increase the ability of air traffic controllers to supervise a greater number of flights, without overloading the system.

Within this context, the UAM-ENAIRE-CRIDA Agreement has been established for the development of research and development activities (R+D+i) in the field of human factors applied to air traffic management. This initiative is carried out at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) by the Perception and Movement Research Group (GIPYM) of the Faculty of Psychology.

The research proposes and validates a predictive model of the mental load of air traffic controllers, with the aim of balancing a priori the demand for flights to be accepted in controlled airspace, taking into account the capacities of the air traffic controllers.

The model used, known as COMETA, was developed internally by CRIDA, a non-profit economic interest group established by ENAIRE (Spain’s air navigation manager), the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and Transport Engineering and Economics, SA (INECO).

“This model assumes that the mental load is equal to the cognitive complexity of the task. To calculate this complexity in airspace management, the model takes into account the contribution of events and structural characteristics of air traffic identified by expert controllers” , explain the authors of the study.

“In this sense —they add— an increase in cognitive complexity entails an increase in the difficulty for the controller when carrying out his set of tasks. These include the reminder of data from the different flights, the visual estimates of the trajectories, the communication with the aircraft under their control and the performance of actions to safely maintain the flow of aircraft.

The research validates a predictive model of the mental load of air traffic controllers to balance a priori the demand for flights to be accepted in controlled airspace, taking into account the capacities of the controllers. (Photo: ENAIRE)

The original COMETA model pre-calculates airspace complexity based on various structural factors, making predictions easier. However, this approach does not take into account the effects on airspace of controller actions in real time.

The research developed under the UAM-ENAIRE-CRIDA agreement proposes a modified version of the COMETA model that includes dynamic interactions between the task and the controller. To validate this model, the team, led by Jorge Ibáñez-Gijón from the UAM Faculty of Psychology, carried out an experimental laboratory study using an air control simulator (ATC-Lab Advanced) that allows the systematic manipulation of various factors of the air space.

The results show that COMETA can predict the mental load of controllers in a wide range of stage conditions in a manner consistent with the correlates of mental load measured in the study. In addition, the precise control of air traffic complexity factors, which requires the experimental validation of the model, has revealed their interactions in the production of mental load.

The study is entitled “Experimental validation of COMETA model of mental workload in air traffic control”. And it has been published in the academic Journal of Air Transport Management. (Source: UAM)