Weather Integration

Weather delays account for 70 percent of the cost of air traffic delays within the United States annually. The majority of these delays are avoidable. Knowing when and where aircraft can fly safely in terms of weather conditions is critical to making air travel safer and more efficient. Today, decisions regarding weather are primarily made manually and vary from user to user, subject to the knowledge set and interpretation of individuals. Furthermore, weather information is not currently integrated into all ATM decision systems and processes. AvMet is working with the FAA to establish an automated approach to integrating weather information into air traffic management decision making. Weather assimilated into the decision making process will enable decision makers to identify areas where and when aircraft can fly safely. AvMet is establishing an approach to deal with the integration of weather information into the ATM decision making process in order to optimize the entire NAS. The goal of weather integration is to minimize the need for humans to gauge NAS weather impacts or to determine the optimum mitigation.