Airservices is a government-owned corporation providing safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible services to the aviation industry. We manage air traffic operations for around 75 million passengers on more than three million flights every year.

Frequently asked questions

Industry

What will happen if I don’t comply with my assigned Calculated Off-Block Time (COBT)?

Airservices Flow Controllers will use Metron Traffic Flow to help make their sequencing decisions. You can expect that if you depart significantly before your assigned COBT, you will be given enroute delays to meet your programmed time of landing and aircraft that complied with their assigned COBT will be given priority. The maximum benefit will occur for all stakeholders if all users comply.

I am not part of a company with a schedule. How do I get or adjust my COBT?

The National Operations Centre will provide COBT times just as it does now for CTMS times into Sydney or Perth. If you do not have access to the Metron Traffic Flow web client, changes to ETD can be notified to the NOC, which will assign a new time.

When will other airports start running ground delay programs?

The expansion of ground delay programs to additional airports will be according to where a need is identified to balance demand and capacity.

Where can I find more information on CDM application in other countries/regions?

There is an extensive amount of information on CDM on the Eurocontrol website.

Community

Is the introduction of CDM designed to allow more aircraft to operate at existing airports, causing more noise over nearby communities?

CDM will allow more efficient operation of existing traffic, and ensure the system can cope with the projected growth of air traffic. There are no proposed changes to daily or hourly movement caps at airports such as Sydney.

Will departure delays mean some aircraft breach curfews at certain destination airports?

There will be no change to curfews, or the rules airlines must follow in adhering to them.