From 15 to 19 June, the 9th Meeting of the ICAO Aerodrome Design and Operations Panel Working Group (ADOP/WG/9) was held in Montreal, Canada. Under the leadership of Baiyan Su, China's member of the ICAO ADOP, Hongfeng Zheng, CEO of VariFlight, and Hao Zhang attended the meeting as Advisors.
During the meeting, the VariFlight delegation submitted and presented Working Paper 09 (WP09), "Follow-up on A42-WP/135 and Proposed ADOP Work on Total Airport Management (TAM)." The paper introduced China's achievements in Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) implementation and the progress of Total Airport Management (TAM) development. It also exchanged views on the future technical development of TAM and answered questions raised by the experts.
The meeting reviewed and discussed 36 working papers and 4 information papers. Key agenda items included progress reports from the ADOP working groups, including ADWG, AOWG, VAWG, VFIWG, WAWG, and OLSTF. In addition, participants discussed topics such as the introduction of autonomous vehicles into airside operations, the application of Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) software, and airport compatibility considerations for alternative-energy aircraft.
A total of 55 experts from 22 countries and seven international organizations attended the meeting. Participating countries included China, the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, Brazil, the Netherlands, Singapore, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Croatia, among others. International organizations represented at the meeting included ACI, CANSO, EASA, EUROCONTROL, IATA, ICCAIA, ASA, and IFALPA.
During the meeting, following a nomination by ICAO ADOP members and confirmation by ICAO, VariFlight was also appointed as an Advisor to the ICAO Airport Operations Working Group (AOWG). In this role, VariFlight will participate in Job Card 024 – A-CDM/TAM, working together with EUROCONTROL and aviation experts from Brazil, Japan, and other countries to accelerate the development and publication of the TAM Guidance Material (Total Airport Management Guidance Material).
The Aerodrome Design and Operations Panel (ADOP) is the ICAO expert panel responsible for airport design and operations. It studies technical issues related to airport design, operational management, safety, and capacity enhancement, and supports the development and maintenance of ICAO standards and guidance material.
The Airport Operations Working Group (AOWG) is a specialized working group under ICAO ADOP. It conducts technical studies and exchanges on airport operational management, collaborative operations, and operational efficiency, and is responsible for developing and updating international Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and guidance material related to airport operations.
