CAPACITIES / COORDINATION

An airport constrained by its handling capacity for IFR arrivals:

The Cannes-Mandelieu airfield is greatly constrained by its airport capacity, particularly in relation to the handling of aircraft on IFR approach.
The official SIA publication has further information (in AD2 LFMD ADC1):
“Due to the AD situation, limited ground capacity in terms of IFR movements.Risk of delays in the event of high level of demand on arrival.”
The approach procedure is managed following the heading of QFU 35 although QFU17 is the QFU used most of the time (breakout heading opposite take-offs)
The Cannes hub is close to that of Nice and the procedures for the 2 areas are very interdependant in terms of conflicts, catch-up’s, crossings, etc.
Holding patterns for Cannes are shared with those of Nice (MUS and NERAS) and relatively remote (especially NERAS) from the Cannes area.
The Cannes and Nice IFR flight paths and the MUS and NERAS holding patterns are shown on the attached IFR flight path reproductions.  The Cannes IFR procedures impose a spacing of 13 minutes between 2 aircraft on approach which leads to a theoretical capacity of 4 arrivals an hour.
The respective capacities of Nice and Cannes for the handling of arriving IFR flights, even if these flights are handled by the same control organisation, cannot be transferred from one hub to the other or vice versa. Furthermore, the total flow of movements (arrivals and departures) must also be controlled; the maximum admissible is set at 9 aircraft.

Regulations which generate long delays:

IFR traffic is growing rapidly at Cannes (+10.5% on average per year from 2004 to 2007) The regulations set up sometimes generate considerable delays. Since the monitoring services are closed during the aeronautical night, traffic management is sometimes particularly tricky in the evening due to the given deadlines. This especially obvious in summer at the end of the week.

Airport coordination :

In order to ensure good control of the flows at this airport, it was decided to coordinate the Cannes hub based on ATC parameters.
The coordination parameters selected are as follows:
· 1 arrival per fixed time slot of 15 minutes (10.00 – 10.14, 10.15 – 10.29, etc.)
· 1 departure per fixed time slot of 10 minutes (10.00 – 10.09, 10.10 – 10.19, etc.)
· 9 movements (arrivals and departures) per 60 minute time slot and per 10 minute step
For the summer 2008 season, the coordination period extends from Friday 23rd May to Monday 15th September 2008.  All additional information can be obtained from the designated coordinator:

COHOR – BP 436 Orly Ouest
94547 – ORLY AEROGARE CEDEX
Tel: +33 (0)1 49 75 88 10       
Fax: +33 (0)1 49 75 88 20
Website: www.cohor.org