Track Structure and details
Tracks are identified by a four alphanumeric code:
Character 1 & 2 – Identifiers
Characters 1 & 2 represent the direction of the Flex Track, which is either a track between two specified airports or between an airport and an area/region
Specific Airports
- A Auckland
- B Brisbane
- C Christchurch
- M Melbourne
- P Perth
- S Sydney
Areas/Regions
- X Arabian Gulf
- Y Singapore Area of Southeast Asia
- Z India
Character 3 - Track Number
Character 3 represents the track number for a specific track pairing. This number will generally be one (1) unless a second Flex Track is generated concurrently either to safeguard against congestion or to provide better access to other airports in the same area/region, e.g. two tracks may be generated between Sydney (S) and the Singapore Area (Y). Track 1 may capture the WIII, WSSS, WMKK traffic and Track 2 the WADD and VTBD traffic.
Character 4 - Validity Period
The validity periods for the Flex Tracks that make up the AUSOTS fall into two categories. Firstly, high density shorter range international routes with diverse scheduled departure times requiring the Flex Tracks to be generated twice daily with shorter validity periods. Secondly, the long range international routes with low traffic densities and limited departure times that require a once a day promulgated Flex Tracks with a long validity period. From an ATM perspective it is imperative (particularly in an electronic environment) that the naming system safeguards against possible confusions caused by the introduction of TDMs replacing the previous TDM with the same name. The 4th character is predominantly for the ATSP use. The fourth character will be either
:For Flex Tracks generated twice per day
- A (meaning tracks created from the 06:00 UTC wind updates)
- P (meaning tracks created from the 18:00 UTC wind updates)
For Flex Tracks generated once per day
- A number from 1-7 (representing the day of the week that the Flex Track is created starting with Monday - 1, Tuesday – 2 etc.)
