Improving the flow of departing aircraft is a critical tool to reduce congestion within the largest and busiest airports: temporary unavailability of runways, heavy traffic in peak season and unfavorable weather conditions shall always be carefully managed to avoid the creation of potential bottlenecks on the ground.

With the successful implementation of Departure Management improvements in 2018, operations in Copenhagen have gotten significantly smoother, allowing for the most efficient use of the airport resources and infrastructure: departing aircraft are guided from the airport gates to one of the three runways, and their departures are automatically sequenced taking into account any potential constraints (e.g. construction and maintenance works) but also Airspace Users’ operational preferences.

Improving the Departure Management has made operations in Copenhagen more predictable and punctual, reducing waiting times for aircraft queuing before departure: with shorter waiting times and improved taxi times (around 105.000 minutes saved in the next 10 years only), Airspace Users are also likely to lower their fuel consumption and reduce emissions around the airport: the estimate is a carbon emissions reduction of more than 3.000 tons. At the same time, the improved Departure Management delivered improvements in terms of safety and resilience, due to the reduction of unexpected events.