Managing the Acceptance of Change in ATM

Abstract

This paper studies factors affecting the acceptance of change in air traffic management (ATM) in the context of the major changes that will be required in coming years as capacity falls short, and demand rises for airspace. It uses three case studies, in Manchester, Bucharest, and Stockholm and examines attitudes of pilots and controllers toward one of the newer adaptations expected to be more widely used to increase airspace capacity, continuous descent approach (CDA). Compared with conventional approaches, in which the plane drops down in altitude in steps, CDAs allow planes to remain at higher altitudes for longer periods of time, which reduces thrust transients, reducing noise emissions and saving fuel. CDAs were selected for the study because they represent a change in ATM that has a social benefit component. This paper examines the process of behavioral change by studying how pilots and controllers perceive the benefits of changes in ATM and how the social context affects their perceptions. This requires an examination between societal and system benefits, with an acknowledgment that there are often tradeoffs between them. Anonymous interviews with pilots and controllers were conducted at the three sites in 2005 and 2006. Details are given about the methodology and breakdown of subjects. Regarding the sites, Manchester has a history of noise complaints, as does Stockholm, while such awareness was lacking in Bucharest. Predictors were derived using the Theory of Planned Behavior, which uses attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control as the basic constructs. These constructs are integrated into Seven Stages of Change, a model developed by the University of Westminster under funding from EU’s TAPESTRY project.