Impacts of the Enterprise Integrated Aviation Weather System Forecast Products on Air Traffic Flow Management in East China

Designed by IMSG as generally applicable, the newly-deployed Enterprise Integrated Aviation Weather System (eIAWS™) has been providing operational, high spatiotemporal resolution weather forecasts for the East China Air Traffic Management Bureau (EC ATMB) in Shanghai since May 2017. The main tailored components of eIAWS^TM consist of: 1) Radar/satellite nowcasting system, 2) Regional Rapid-Refresh (3R) high-resolution numerical weather prediction model, and 3) ATM decision support tools (DSTs). China’s increasing air travel demand requires more timely, precise and reliable aviation weather forecasts with the primary purpose of planning ahead of disruptive weather events to the airspace. A number of case studies of the 2017 summer convective season are discussed and verified in order to assess eIAWS^TM operational forecasting performance during impact days. Preliminary results and feedbacks from forecasters at the EC ATMB Meteorological Center point to an improvement in their forecasting, awareness and communicational capabilities. In addition, the use of these weather forecasts and DSTs in daily decision making processes (such as the collaborative decision making – CDM and the Massive Delay Response System - MDRS) and their resulting impacts to air traffic flow management are discussed. Ideas for improved forecasts and future updates to eIAWS^TM will be presented. Despite the observed progress and initial success of a regional integrated aviation weather system tailored towards ATM needs, aviation weather forecasting and its integration into the operational ATM decision making process remains a challenge for China’s overall civil aviation system.