Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) is an innovative concept in air traffic management (ATM) designed to improve the planning of aircraft movements. The primary aim of TBO is to address the imbalance between airspace capacity and demand. By offering tools for ATM personnel, TBO helps streamline aircraft movement from their starting points to their destinations. This approach is expected to minimize reactive decision-making and decrease reliance on fixed miles-in-trail restrictions through better traffic flow management.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) anticipates that TBO will boost flight efficiency, enhance the throughput of airspace and airports, and provide greater operational predictability and flexibility. At the heart of TBO is the aircraft trajectory, which is defined in four dimensions: latitude, longitude, altitude, and time. The FAA considers TBO as the ‘ultimate goal’ of its Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) program, aimed at modernizing the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS).
