Vianair Outlines 5A Framework for Coordinating Flight Operations Across Aviation Stakeholders

Vianair uses trajectory-based operations & 4D trajectory data to establish shared trajectory and timing information across a flight’s five operational domains.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA, UNITED STATES, September 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Vianair has outlined a 5A framework aimed at improving how flight information is shared across five operational domains involved in managing an aircraft’s gate-to-gate journey.

The framework addresses a longstanding characteristic of aviation operations: airlines, Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), Air Traffic Control (ATC), the airplane and flight deck, and airports contribute to the same flight but often make decisions through separate operational systems and processes.

Vianair’s 5A framework identifies those five domains as Airline, ANSP, Airplane, ATC, and Airport and uses a shared aircraft trajectory as a common operational reference.

At the foundation of the framework is Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO), enabled by four-dimensional trajectory information. A 4D trajectory adds time to the traditional three spatial dimensions of an aircraft’s flight path.

A 4D trajectory combines latitude, longitude, altitude, and time to describe where an aircraft is expected to be and when it is expected to be there. As operational conditions change, the trajectory can be updated to reflect the aircraft’s expected path and timing.

“The 4D trajectory provides the common language. The 5A framework connects the participants,” said Robert Kidd of Vianair.

Addressing Separate Operational Environments

Each of the five domains has a different responsibility within the aviation system.

Airlines manage schedules, aircraft utilization, crews, passengers, and fuel. ANSPs manage broader airspace capacity, traffic flows, and system-wide demand, while ATC represents the tactical management, separation, and sequencing of individual aircraft. The Airplane domain represents the aircraft and flight deck, where crews execute the trajectory and respond to changing conditions during the flight. Airports manage runways, gates, surface movements, and infrastructure supporting arrivals and departures.

Decisions within one domain can affect several others.

A runway change, for example, may alter an aircraft’s departure or arrival procedure and trajectory. The change can affect flight time and fuel requirements, ATC sequencing, airspace demand, arrival timing, gate availability, and airline scheduling.

Information about those effects may currently pass through multiple systems and organizations as the operation develops.

Under the 5A framework, a continuously updated 4D trajectory would provide a common reference that participating organizations could use to evaluate how a change may affect their respective portions of the operation.

Using TBO and 4D Trajectories Across the Flight

The framework builds on the broader aviation industry’s development of trajectory-based operations, in which an aircraft’s expected trajectory becomes an important component of planning and operational decision-making.

In a 5A environment, airlines could use trajectory information when evaluating fuel, schedule, fleet, and other operational considerations. ANSPs and ATC could incorporate trajectory and timing information into demand, airspace, and sequencing decisions. The flight deck could receive updated trajectory information as conditions change, while airports could use expected arrival and departure information when planning gates, runways, and surface activity.

The objective is to provide the different operational domains with a common reference while maintaining their individual responsibilities and specialized systems.

Vianair is developing the framework through capabilities across its aviation technology platforms, including procedure design, automated charting, operational analysis, flight tracking, and airport visualization. Underlying capabilities are already in use within Vianair’s platforms, while additional cross-domain integration remains under development.

About Vianair
Vianair is an aviation technology company founded in 2017 that develops software and data platforms for airlines, airports, and air navigation service providers. Its technologies support aviation planning and operational decision-making across areas including instrument flight procedure design, automated charting, flight tracking, airport operations, and aviation analytics, with a focus on improving safety, efficiency, and the passenger experience

Stavros Sidiropoulos
Vianair, Inc.
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