Altaport, an airport operations management platform provider, and WSP, an engineering, environment, and professional services firm, have released a concept of operations (CONOPS) providing a detailed approach on the critical business requirements of a Vertiport Automation System (VAS).
“The concept of a VAS has been addressed in recent years in various whitepapers and concepts of operations; this new VAS CONOPS complements these prior works, adding context to a VAS’s role in integrating critical operational and business requirements to maximize the value of a vertiport network,” say the companies in a press release.
“The CONOPS is the result of a deep collaboration among Altaport and WSP and other technical and thought leaders in the Advanced Air Mobility space, including BluSky Services, GeoRq LLC, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Harper4D Solutions, and ResilienX. In addition to building on existing research, the document aligns with key business objectives that will drive economic value and facilitate growth within the AAM sector.”
“We’re excited to unveil this CONOPS, intended to bridge the gap between technical innovation and practical application of vertiport automation systems,” said Cory Cozzens, CEO of Altaport. “While previous works have thoroughly explored the technical aspects of a VAS, our focus is integrating technical requirements with the operational and business realities that will define the vertiport ecosystem.”
The VAS CONOPS introduces or adds detail to several concepts related to the management of a vertiport through a VAS, including: adoption of modern operational concepts including Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) and Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) at the VAS and operator level, whether adopted generally at the NAS level or not; and inclusion of an economic dimension within the TBO framework – in addition to the commonly discussed latitude, longitude, altitude, and time dimensions–allowing for the vertiport and aircraft operators to take into consideration the economic or business value of an operation when necessary (e.g., due to atypically constrained availability of resources), appropriate, and permissible.
Access and download the VAS CONOPS via WSP.com or Altaport.com.
