Abstract:
Status information on plane, passenger, cargo, crew, fuel, food, baggage, maintenance, weather and any other process used to manage airport operations, including expediting aircraft turnaround time for takeoff, is gathered into a common decision support database. The system includes decision support tools to increase the sharing of information between airline, airport, contractors and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to more efficiently and safely manage the service, maintenance and operations of aircraft.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to systems and methods for managing airport operations. More specifically, this invention relates to an operations management tool for collaborative decision support for airline personnel through shared tactical operational information.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     Many complicated activities must be coordinated to keep an airport and the airlines that use it running efficiently. Planes, passengers, cargo, crews, fuel, food, baggage, maintenance, weather information and many other essentials must be routed to the optimal place at the optimal time to complete flights at minimal cost. To coordinate the routing of these items information on the status of each activity must be gathered. The gathered status information must then be analyzed and/or displayed in a usable fashion so that individuals and/or control systems can use it to make the decisions needed to operate the airport and airlines.  
         [0005]     There are many existing techniques for gathering much of the necessary data. U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,611 by McElreath (&#39;611), U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,320 by Monroe (&#39;320), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,692 by Monroe (&#39;692), incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, disclose several systems and methods for tracking the position of one or more aircraft. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0173883 by Ezaki incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a system, method and software for obtaining passenger and aircraft status.  
         [0006]     There are many existing techniques for displaying aircraft location data for analysis and decision support. U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,912 by Nishimura et. al. (&#39;912), U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,965 by Glass et. al. (&#39;965), U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,363 by Pilley et. al. (&#39;363), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,342 by Vandervoorde et. al. (&#39;342) incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, disclose several systems and methods for managing the collected aircraft location data. The &#39;912, &#39;965, &#39;363, and &#39;342 patents use various database configurations and display methods to support the decisions required to manage the movement of aircraft.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     As demonstrated in the above patents, systems and methods exist to gather status information on aircraft location and passengers and manage the movement of aircraft. The airport authority and each airline at an airport often use different systems and methods to gather such information making it difficult to share information. In addition, the status of crews, fuel, food, baggage, maintenance and de-icing are presently collected using many diverse methods making it difficult to integrate this information into the high level decision process during an aircraft “turnaround”. Communication of decisions to the various organizations supporting aircraft turnaround is also difficult with existing methods and systems.  
         [0008]     This invention provides systems and methods that gather status information on plane, passenger, cargo, crew, fuel, food, baggage, maintenance, weather and any other process used to manage airport operations, including expediting aircraft turnaround time for takeoff, into a common decision support database.  
         [0009]     The systems and methods of this invention provide decision support tools to increase the sharing of information between airline, airport, contractors and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to more efficiently and safely manage the service, maintenance and operations of aircraft. For example, command, control and communications capabilities are displayed as real-time information regarding aircraft scheduled to arrive and depart from the airport.  
         [0010]     This invention separately provides a situation graphical user interface for accessing and viewing status information stored in the decision support database and reconfiguring airport resources.  
         [0011]     This invention separately provides a ground control graphical user interface used to manage airport ground traffic.  
         [0012]     This invention separately provides systems and methods that transmit decisions and status to the separate organizations and functions supporting aircraft turnaround at an airport.  
         [0013]     This invention separately provides decision support capabilities, command and control functions, report capabilities, reduction in operating costs and increased situational awareness, i.e., safety. The systems and methods of the invention also fuse realtime event data from multiple sources, maintain historical logs of all events, maintain performance information and integrate communications, such as data link, voice, multiple data sources, and communications between other airline applications.  
         [0014]     In various exemplary embodiments, the systems and methods according to this invention, all existing sources of aircraft location and turnaround status information are transmitted to a common decision support database. A current state of aircraft location and turnaround status is maintained in the decision support database and information on all previous states is archived. A suite of new and existing management applications and expert systems are then used to view and analyze the data. Airport and airline management identify problems and optimize responses using the new and existing management applications and expert systems. Decisions are then communicated to the various organizations and functions to enhance management of airport operations, such as implementing the turnaround process of the aircraft.  
         [0015]     These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods according to this invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     Various exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a data flow diagram illustrating one exemplary embodiment of an airport management architecture according to this invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates a first embodiment of a ramp and gate situation graphical user interface according to this invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of a ramp and gate situation graphical user interface according to this invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a ground control graphical user interface according to this invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of one exemplary embodiment of an airport operations managing system according to this invention; and  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a top level flowchart representing the process of managing airport operations according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]      FIG. 1  is a data flow diagram illustrating one exemplary embodiment of an airport management architecture according to this invention. The airport decision support database  110  shown in  FIG. 1  contains shared status information from all of the activities at the airport. This shared status information includes public status information generated by activities managed by the airport, such as aircraft location  111 , air traffic control (ATC) information  112 , flight schedules  113 , gate assignment/status  114 , crew schedules  115  and weather  116 . The shared status information also includes status information generated by the airlines using the airport that they elect to share with the other airport operations centers to enhance efficiency.  
         [0024]     Aircraft location  111  may be determined using methods and systems described in patents &#39;611, &#39;912, &#39;320, &#39;342, &#39;965, &#39;363 and &#39;692, multilateration technology or any other existing or to be developed method. The format/protocol of the aircraft location  111  is translated from that used when it is determined into a standard format/protocol used by the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . The aircraft location  111  is then sent to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . It should be appreciated that the aircraft location  111  can be transmitted to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  first and then format/protocol translation can be performed by the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . It should also be appreciated that the method used for determining aircraft location can be designed to use the standard format/protocol of the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 .  
         [0025]     ATC information  112  such as flight clearances and flight restrictions is generated and maintained by ATC using existing ATC systems. The format/protocol of ATC information  112  is translated from that used when it is generated into a standard format/protocol used by the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . The ATC information  112  is then sent to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . It should be appreciated that the ATC information  112  can be transmitted to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  first and format/protocol translation can be performed by the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 .  
         [0026]     Flight schedules  113  and gate assignment/status  114  and crew schedules  115  are generated by the Airport Operations Center. The format/protocol of the flight schedules  113  and gate assignment/status  114  and crew schedules  115  are translated from that used when they are generated into a standard format/protocol used by the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . The flight schedules  113  and gate assignment/status  114  and crew schedules  115  are then sent to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . It should be appreciated that the flight schedules  113  and gate assignment/status  114  and crew schedules  115  can be transmitted to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  first and format/protocol translation can be performed by the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 .  
         [0027]     Weather information  116  is typically provided by an external agency and is transmitted to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 . The format/protocol of the weather information  116  is translated by the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  after receipt. It should be appreciated that some airports or airlines can have their own weather information  116  service.  
         [0028]     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , Airline A has its own, or contracts for, check-in, boarding, maintenance, catering, fueling, bag handling and cargo handling functions. Check-in and boarding status  121 , maintenance status  122 , catering status  123 , fueling status  124 , and bag and cargo handling status  125  for Airline A is generated by these separate functions and transmitted to the Airline A Decision Support Database  120 . Any status information stored in the Airline A Decision Support Database  120  which Airline A elects to share with the other airport operations centers to enhance efficiency is then transmitted to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 , as shown by the dashed line.  
         [0029]     For those support functions without an existing automated status system, a system that generates information formats compatible with the Airline A Decision Support Database  120  is installed. Those functions with existing automated tracking systems, are modified to use compatible data format/protocols or translated to compatible format/protocols used by the Airline A Decision Support Database  120 . It should be appreciated that existing automated tracking systems can be used as is and data format/protocol translation can be performed at the Airline A Decision Support Database  120  after the data is received.  
         [0030]     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , Airline B has its own, or contracts for a, de-icing function in addition to the check-in, boarding, maintenance, catering, fueling, bag handling and cargo handling functions shown for Airline A. The de-icing status  131 , check-in and boarding status  121 , maintenance status  122 , catering status  123 , fueling status  124 , and bag and cargo handling status  125  for Airline B is generated by these separate functions and transmitted to the Airline B Decision Support Database  130 . Any status information stored in the Airline B Decision Support Database  130  which Airline B elects to share with the other airport operations centers to enhance efficiency is then transmitted to the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110 , as shown by the dashed line.  
         [0031]     For those support functions without an existing automated status system, a system that generates information formats compatible with the Airline B Decision Support Database  130  is installed. Those functions with existing automated tracking systems, are modified to use compatible data format/protocols or translated to compatible format/protocols used by the Airline B Decision Support Database  130 . It should be appreciated that existing automated tracking systems can be used as is and data format/protocol translation can be performed at the Airline B Decision Support Database  130  after the data is received.  
         [0032]     The Airport Authority Airport Operations Advisor  140 , shown in  FIG. 1 , is a surface operations management tool used in the airport authority operations center to provide realtime command and control. The Airport Authority Operations Advisor  140  has graphical and text user interfaces and applications for managing functions controlled by the Airport Authority, such as direct delivery of taxi clearances, for example. The Airport Authority Operations Advisor  140  interfaces with the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  to obtain shared status information for its graphical displays and to distribute command directives to airport services.  
         [0033]     The External Agency Airport Operations Advisor  170  is a surface operations management tool used by an external agency such as the FAA to monitor Airport status. The External Agency Airport Operations Advisor  170  is essentially another instance of the Airport Operations Advisor used by the Airport Authority, with the same core system, graphical user interfaces, text user interfaces as the Airport Authority Airport Operations Advisor  140 . The External Agency Airport Operations Advisor  170  interfaces with the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  to obtain shared status information.  
         [0034]     The Airline A Airport Operations Advisor  150  is a surface operations management tool used in the Airline A operations center to provide realtime command and control. The Airline A Airport Operations Advisor  150  is essentially another instance of the Airport Operations Advisor program used by the Airport Authority and has the same core system, graphical user interfaces and text user interfaces as the Airport Authority Airport Operations Advisor  140 . The Airline A Operations Advisor  150  interfaces with the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  to obtain shared status information and interfaces with the Airline A Decision Support Database  120  to obtain Airline A proprietary information for its graphical displays and to distribute command directives to airport services. The Airline A Airport Operations Advisor  150  has different management applications than the Airport Authority Airport Operations Advisor  140 , such as a catering manager, fueling manager and maintenance manager needed to control Airline A&#39;s specific support functions.  
         [0035]     The Airline B Airport Operations Advisor  160  is a surface operations management tool used in the Airline B operations center to provide realtime command and control. The Airline B Airport Operations Advisor  160  is essentially another instance of the Airport Operations Advisor used by the Airport Authority and Airline A, with the same core system, graphical user interfaces, text user and management applications as the Airline A Airport Operations Advisor  150 . The Airline B Operations Advisor  160  interfaces with the Airport Authority Decision Support Database  110  to obtain shared status information and interfaces with the Airline B Decision Support Database  130  to obtain Airline B proprietary information for its graphical displays and to distribute command directives to airport services. The Airline B Airport Operations Advisor  160  includes additional management applications not used by the Airline A Airport Operations Advisor  150 , such as a deicing manager.  
         [0036]     It should be appreciated that the airport management architecture shown in  FIG. 1  is not restricted to exactly Airline A and Airline B, and can also be utilized with no Airlines integrated, one airline or more than two. It should also be appreciated that the specific list of support functions for which status is gathered and/or the Airport Operations Advisor contains a manager application, can vary for the Airport Authority or any of the airlines.  
         [0037]      FIG. 2  illustrates one exemplary one embodiment of a ramp and gate situation graphical user interface  200  according to this invention. The ramp and gate situation graphical user interface  200  is the top-level display used by an operator to access the Airport Operations Advisors functions. The preferred embodiment of the ramp and gate situation graphical user interface  200  has a menu bar  210  containing File  211 , Schedule  212  and Options  213  topics. The File  211  topic contains the Exit sub-topic, used to close the instance of the Airport Operations Advisor being viewed. The Schedule  212  topic contains the Master Flight Schedule and Airline Schedule sub-topics. The Master Flight Schedule sub-topic displays a schedule of all aircraft arrivals and departures for the airport when selected. The Airline Schedule sub-topic displays a schedule of aircraft and support equipment for a specific airline. Although the graphical user interface  200  has a menu bar  210  containing File  211 , Schedule  212  and Options  213  topics, it should be understood that other topics are contemplated by this invention.  
         [0038]     The Options  213  topic shown in  FIG. 2  has a query sub-topic and a configure sub-topic. The query sub-topic is selected to retrieve status information from the decision support database. Lower tier menu selections of the query sub-topic, such as fueling, baggage, catering or other support function are selected to narrow the information search. Queries can be made for the present state of a support function or for a historical log of that support function status. The configure sub-topic is selected to implement airport management decisions. Lower tier menu selections of the configure sub-topic are selected to reconfigure or allocate assets used by the airport support functions. Although a query sub-topic and a configure sub-topic are discussed in this exemplary embodiment, it should be understood that other sub-topics are contemplated by this invention.  
         [0039]     The ramp and gate situation graphical user interface  200  shows the location of each ramp  220 , shown in  FIG. 2  with a numbered gray circle. The location of each gate  230  is shown with a numbered square. Assigned gates  231  are white and available gates  232  are gray. Aircraft  240  are shown with symbols of various shapes, each shape identifying a different type of aircraft. The status of the aircraft  240  is indicated by the shape&#39;s color when in use, i.e., blue for boarding or in service and red for resource conflict.  
         [0040]     The function buttons  250  are used as short cuts to some of the sub-topics in the options  213  topic of the menu. The gate info  251 , gate avail  252 , gate status  253 , aircraft (A/C) info  254 , A/C LifeGD  255 , A/C priority  256  and A/C status  257  are types of decision support database queries which can be selected. Issue PBC  261 , acknowledge alert  262 , move A/C  263 , remove A/C  264  and clear  265  are selected to configure resources.  
         [0041]      FIG. 3  illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of the ramp and gate situation graphical user interface  200  shown in  FIG. 2  that contains two open windows, the arrival/departure information window  300  and the pushback clearance window  400 . The arrival/departure information window  300  was opened by the ramp and gate situation graphical user interface  200  when the operator selected the A/C info  254  function. The arrival/departure information window  300  includes an arrivals column  310 , which lists arriving aircraft  311 . Each arriving aircraft  311  in the arrivals column  310  is listed in a separate row and includes aircraft call sign  312 , gate assignment  313  and aircraft type  314 . The arrival/departure information window  300  also includes a PBR/C column  320  and a ERT column  330  for each ramp C&amp;D and E. The PBR/C column  320  and a ERT column  330  also list each aircraft in a separate row and includes call sign  312 , gate assignment  313  and aircraft type  314 .  
         [0042]     In the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the pushback clearance window  400  was opened by the ramp and gate situation graphical user interface  200  when the operator selected the issue PBC  261  function. The pushback clearance window  400  contains the call sign  412 , gate assignment  413  and aircraft type  414  of the aircraft requesting pushback clearance. An operator can give clearance to approach east  421  approach west  422 , hold east  423  hold west  424  or cancel  425  the pushback request by selecting the designated button. Once the operator selects a button the Airport Operations Advisor transmits this direction to the decision support database and all airport and airline systems which need to respond.  
         [0043]      FIG. 4  illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a ground control graphical user interface according to this invention. The ground control graphical user interface  500  shown in  FIG. 4  is a passive information tool used to manage airport ground traffic. The arrival list  510  is contained in the first column of the ground control graphical user interface  500 . Each row of the arrival list  510  represents an aircraft arriving on the ground at the airport and provides flight call sign, aircraft type and gate, as shown in the legend  511 . Gate status for each arriving aircraft is determined by the row color as shown in the legend  512 .  
         [0044]     The pushback list  520  is contained in the middle two columns of the ground control graphical user interface  500 . Each row of the pushback list  520  represents an aircraft awaiting clearance to pushback and taxi and provides flight call sign, aircraft type, location, assigned runway, taxi route and ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service), as shown in the legend  521 . The active taxi list  530  is contained in the last column of the ground control graphical user interface  500 . Each row of the active taxi list  530  represents an aircraft taxing to takeoff and provides flight call sign, taxi start time and runway, as shown in the legend  531 . The delay list  540  is contained in the last column of the of the ground control graphical user interface  500 . Each row of the delay list  540  represents an aircraft whose taxi clearance has been delayed. The status of the delay is indicated, as shown in the legend  541 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 5  shows one exemplary embodiment of an airport operations managing system  600  according to this invention. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the airport operations managing system  600  includes an input/output interface  605 , a controller  610 , a memory  620 , a data protocol translating circuit, routine or application  630 , a database managing circuit, routine or application  640 , a display managing circuit, routine or application  650  and a decision communicating circuit, routine or application  660 , interconnected by a control/data bus  615 .  
         [0046]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , one or more data sources  700 , one or more displays  800 , one or more user input devices  900 , and one or more airport support function managers  1000  are connected to the airport operations managing system  600  by the links  705 ,  805 ,  905  and  1005 , respectively.  
         [0047]     In general, the one or more data sources  700  shown in  FIG. 5  can be any known or later developed device that is capable of providing status information on the one or more airport support function managers  1000  to the airport operations managing system  600  of this invention. In general, the one or more airport support function managers  1000  shown in  FIG. 5  can be any known or later developed system that is used to manage various airport and airline support functions necessary to service or operate an airport or airplane.  
         [0048]     The one or more data sources  700  and the one or more airport support function managers  1000  can be integrated into one or more systems. The one or more data sources  700  and the one or more airport support function managers  1000  can also be integrated directly into the airport operations managing system  600 . It should be appreciated that the one or more data sources  700  and one or more airport support function managers  1000  need not be integrated in the same way.  
         [0049]     Each of the respective one or more displays  800  may be one or any combination of multiple display devices, such as a CRT, a LCD, LED array, or any other known or later-developed device for displaying information provided by the airport operations managing system  600  of this invention. It should be understood that the one or more display devices  800 , of  FIG. 5  do not need to be the same type of device.  
         [0050]     Each of the respective one or more user input devices  900  may be one or any combination of multiple input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a joy stick, a trackball, a touch pad, a touch screen, a pen-based system, a microphone and associated voice recognition software, or any other known or later-developed device for inputting user commands to the airport operations managing system  600 . It should be understood that the one or more user input devices  900  of  FIG. 5  do not need to be the same type of device.  
         [0051]     Each of the links  705 ,  805 ,  905  and  1005  connecting the airport operations managing system  600  to the one or more data sources  700 , the one or more user input devices  800 , the one or more displays and the one or more airport support functions managers  1000 , can be a direct cable connection, a modem, a local area network, a wide area network, and intranet, the Internet, any other distributed processing network, or any other known or later developed connection device. It should be appreciated that either of these links  705 ,  805 ,  905  and  1005  may include wired or wireless portions. In general, each of the links  705 ,  805 ,  905  and  1005  can be of any known or later-developed connection system or structure usable to connect the respective devices to the airport operations managing system  600 . It should be understood that the links  705 ,  805 ,  905  and  1005  do not need to be of the same type.  
         [0052]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the memory  620  can be implemented using any appropriate combination of alterable, volatile, or non-volatile memory or non-alterable, or fixed memory. The alterable memory, whether volatile or non-volatile, can be implemented using any one or more of static or dynamic RAM, a floppy disk and disk drive, a writable or rewritable optical disk and disk drive, a hard drive, flash memory or the like. Similarly, the non-alterable or fixed memory can be implemented using any one or more of ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and gaps an optical ROM disk, such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM disk and disk drive or the like.  
         [0053]     Each of the various embodiments of the airport operations managing system  600  can be implemented as software executed on a programmed general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor or the like. It should also be understood that each of the circuits, routines, applications or managers shown in  FIG. 5  can be implemented as portions of a suitably programmed general-purpose computer. Alternatively, each of the circuits, routines, applications or managers shown in  FIG. 5  can be implemented as physically distinct hardware circuits within an ASIC, using a digital signal processor (DSP), using a FPGA, a PDL, a PLA and/or a PAL, or using discrete logic elements or discrete circuit elements. The particular form of the circuits, routines, applications or managers shown in  FIG. 5  will take is a design choice and will be obvious and predictable to those skilled in the art. It should be appreciated that the circuits, routines or managers shown in  FIG. 5  do not need to be of the same design.  
         [0054]     When operating the airport operations managing system  600 , airport support function status can be input from one of the data sources  700  over the link  705 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The input/output interface  605  inputs airport support function status, and under the control of the controller  610 , forwards it to the data protocol translating circuit, routine or application  630 . It should be appreciated that if the input airport support function status information is known to be in a compatible format it can be sent directly to the appropriate portion of the memory  620 .  
         [0055]     The data protocol translating circuit, routine or application  630  then checks to see if the input airport support function status information is in a compatible protocol or format compatible with the database in the airport operations managing system  600  memory  620 . If the input airport support function status information is not in a compatible format data protocol translating circuit, routine or application  630  translates the input airport support function status information into a compatible format. The data protocol translating circuit, routine or application  630  then outputs the translated the input airport support function status information to the database managing circuit, routine or application  640  or stores it in the appropriate portion of the memory  620  under the control of the controller  610 .  
         [0056]     If the database managing circuit, routine or application  640  receives the input airport support function status information directly, it stores it in the appropriate portion of the memory  620 , under the control of the controller. The database managing circuit, routine or application  640  then sends the input airport support function status information to the display managing circuit, routine or application  650 , under the control of the controller  610 . The display managing circuit, routine or application  650  then updates the information in any active display windows by sending the input airport support function status information to one or more of the displays  800  over the link  805 , under the direction of the controller  610 .  
         [0057]     When operating the airport operations managing system  600 , information requests can be input from one or more of the input devices  900  over the link  905 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The input/output interface  605  inputs the information request, and under the control of the controller  610 , forwards it to the database managing circuit, routine or application  640 . The database managing circuit, routine or application  640  retrieves the requested information from the appropriate section of the memory  620 . The database managing circuit, routine or application  640  sends the retrieved information to the display managing circuit, routine or application  650 . The display managing circuit, routine or application  650  generates any needed windows or displays and sends the generated windows and the retrieved information to one or more of the displays  800  over the link  805 , under the direction of the controller  610 .  
         [0058]     When operating the airport operations managing system  600 , reconfiguration commands can be input from one or more of the input devices  900  over the link  905 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The input/output interface  605  inputs the reconfiguration command, and under the control of the controller  610 , forwards it to the decision communicating circuit, routine or application  660 . The decision communicating circuit, routine or application  660  forwards the reconfiguration command to the one or more of the airport support function managers  1000  over the link  1005  under the direction of the controller. The decision communicating circuit, routine or application  660  also sends any status changes generated by the reconfiguration command to the database managing circuit, routine or application  640 . The database managing circuit, routine or application  640  stores the new status information in the appropriate section of the memory  620 .  
         [0059]     Previously gathered status information is archived in the memory  620 . The archived data can be disseminated through reports generated thereon. The archived data may also be used to identify and implement changes that will positively impact the operations of the airport. For example, in the event of a delay, the archived data may be reviewed to determine the state of the airport, location of aircraft, and the like, to determine the cause of the delay and implement changes to minimize the reoccurrence of a similar situation.  
         [0060]      FIG. 6  is a top level flowchart representing an example of managing aircraft turnaround according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 6 , operation begins at step S 100  and continues to step S 900 .  
         [0061]     During step S 200 , shared status information is gathered on all of the activities at the airport and forwarded to the airport authority decision database  110  and archived. For example, shared status information includes aircraft location, flight schedules, gate assignment/status, crew schedules, weather and other such “public” information. Shared status information may also include status information generated by the airlines using the airport that they elect to share with the other airport operations centers to enhance efficiency. Such airline generated information may include for example, check-in and boarding status, de-icing/maintenance progress, catering and fueling status, cargo/baggage loading status, and the like.  
         [0062]     During step S 300 , the shared status information is distributed to various operations advisors. For example, the FAA, or other external agency airport operations advisor  170  using the systems of the invention, may have a need to monitor the status of an airport for overall air traffic safety. The shared information is also distributed to operations advisors  140  within the airport and operations advisors of airlines using the airport  150 ,  160  to enhance overall efficiency and safety and to expedite aircraft turnaround.  
         [0063]     During step S 400  proprietary status information is gathered by the airlines, and/or from services contracted to provide such information, and sent to the appropriate airline decision support database  120 ,  130  where upon the information is archived and forwarded to the appropriate airline operations advisor  150 ,  160  that has been authorized by the airline to receive such proprietary information. The proprietary information is then used in combination with the shared status information distributed by the airport authority decision database  110  to determine if an aircraft is ready for turnaround, i.e., takeoff, step S 600 .  
         [0064]     It should be appreciated that the information gathered at the various decision support databases and distributed to the various operations advisors is an on-going real-time process. Information is gathered and exchanged continuously. Therefore, the information sent to the operations advisors is dynamic and the decisions based on the most current information available.  
         [0065]     If it is determined that the aircraft is ready for turnaround, the aircraft is allowed to turnaround, step S 700 , and operation proceeds to step S 900 . In the event a determination is made, based on the current status information provided to the operations advisors, that the aircraft is not ready for turnaround, then the status of the aircraft is monitored to insure that all necessary actions have been completed, step S 800 . Once the necessary actions have been completed, aircraft turnaround is allowed, step S 700 , and operation proceeds to step S 900 .  
         [0066]     While this invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.