ICAO 9931 PDF

FOREWORD

The purpose. of this manual is to provide guidance on continuous descent operations (CDO) and to harmonize its development and implementation. To achieve this, airspace design, instrument flight procedure design and air traftic control (ATC) techniques should all be employed in a'cohesive manner. This will then facilitate the ability of flight crews to use in-flight techniques to reduce the overall environmental footprint and increase the efficiency of aircraft operations.

Note.- The generic term "continuous descent operations" has been adopted to embrace the different techniques being applied to maximize operational efficiency while still addressing local airspace requirements and constraints. These operations have been variously known as continuous descent arrivals, continuous descent approaches, optimized profile descent, tailored arrivals and 3D/4D path arrival management forming part of the business trajectory concept.

The implementation guidance in this manual is intended to support collaboration among the following stakeholders involved in implementing continuous descent operations:

a) air navigation service providers (ANSP), including;

1 ) policy/decision makers;

2) airspace designers;

3) procedure designers; and

4) operational ATC staff;

b) aircraft operators:

1) policy/decision makers;

2) senior pilots; and

3) technical (FMS expertise) staff;

c) airport operators including:

1) operations department; and

2) environment department;

d) aviation regulators.