Environment
- Environment Home
- E-Change Program
- Heritage Register
- Audit
- Aircraft Emissions
- Management of Aircraft on the Ground
- Predicting and Managing Delays
- Monitoring Australia's Airspace
- Continuous Descent Approaches
- Green Approaches
- Flextracks
- Computer Simulation
- Airspace Management from Gate to Gate
- The Benefits of Gate to Gate Management
- How Air Traffic Management has Traditionally Worked
- Some Causes for Airport Delays
- The Brisbane Green Project
- The Challenge of Growth
- What is RNP?
- Environmental Savings from the Brisbane Green Project
- Sequencing Efficiency
Flextracks
Flextracks allow aircraft to ride the winds on long distance flights.
Every day, we calculate and publish Flextrack information to provide airlines with ‘non-fixed’ air traffic routes that are optimised for the prevailing weather.
They are now being used widely between Australia and airports in Asia and the Middle East. The list of Australian and international airlines using them is growing due to the time and fuel savings.
Flextracks is another way that we are promoting modern and better air traffic management to produce costs savings and protect the environment.
At around 11 km above the surface of the earth and with velocities of up to 400 kilometres per hour, high altitude jet-stream winds can dramatically affect an aircraft’s speed over the ground. Flextracks, which often diverge from the fixed or direct routes by hundreds of kilometres, are designed to use these winds to their advantage or avoid them should there be no advantage to be gained.
Riding favourable winds and avoiding strong headwinds allows aircraft to improve flight time and reduce fuel usage. This reduces airline operating costs but is also good for the environment. Every kilogram of fuel unburned reduces CO2 emissions by approximately three kilograms.