Amended TAF rules – Ceasing TTF product from BOM (CD 2002OS)

Overview

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is proposing to cease issuing the Trend Forecast (TTF) as a meteorological forecast product for aviation users on 13 August 2020.

The TTF is an aerodrome weather report, plus a forecast of meteorological conditions expected to affect the aerodrome for the validity period of the TTF, which is normally 3 hours following the time of the report. The forecast covers the elements of wind, visibility, low-level turbulence, weather and cloud. TTFs are provided for Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin and several Defence aerodromes.

In place of the TTF product and service for the existing TTF aerodromes, the BoM will provide a new product known as the TAF3 and coverage will be extended to Gold Coast and Hobart aerodromes. The TAF3 will be routinely issued every three hours and will not be visually different to the existing TAF.

CASA has analysed the proposed ceasing of the BoM’s TTF forecasting product and has identified that the current rules in the Aeronautical Information Publication Book Australia (AIP) would result in a similar safety outcome for the aviation industry overall.

In analysing the change CASA identified an economic impact of maintaining the existing TAF rules within the AIP where weather forecasting periods are updated less frequently. Without a change to the TAF rules, some alleviations offered by the TTF product would not be available and additional fuel may need to be carried in some circumstances.

CASA’s proposal is to amend the relevant rules to accommodate the BoM proposal while retaining the existing alleviations in flight planning as far as practicable.

The purpose of this consultation is to invite industry and other interested parties to provide comment on the proposed rule amendment.

This consultation is not reconsidering the BoM Trend Review report recommendations, nor technical meteorological details.

Why your views matter

You are being asked to comment on the proposed TAF rule amendment to accommodate the BoM’s proposal to withdraw the TTF as an aviation forecast and replace it with a modified TAF known as the TAF3.

The survey has been designed to give you the option to provide feedback on the survey in its entirety or to provide feedback on the policy topics applicable to you.

Document for review

A copy of the of the Summary of Proposed Change (SPC) and other documents related to the consultation are provided below under the heading, “Related”. This includes a downloadable MS Word copy of this consultation for ease of distribution and feedback within your organisation.

Please use the online consultation form for your response. The Word document is not to be used as an emailed submission, unless you have sought prior approval from the consultation project lead.

The Summary of Proposed Change comprises five parts:

• Summary of Proposed Change on CD 2002OS
• Appendix A – Proposed BoM TAF3
• Appendix B – Consultation Draft – AIP General and EnRoute
• Appendix C – CASR Part 91 Manual of Standards (MOS) amendments
• Appendix D – ERSA Entry Examples

Please read the SPC document before providing your feedback via the online survey.

General comments

There is a general comments box at the end of the consultation into which you can place your comments on matters related to the proposed regulatory amendment, which have not already been addressed in the consultation.

Note: CASA can no longer offer the option to upload files because of the potential risk of malware.

Using an iPad

If you are using an iPad to complete the survey you will be asked to 'download the relevant PDF'. Depending on the software you have on your iPad you may need to download the free viewer to review the single document PDF files. Where a file is a 'multi-file or portfolio PDF you will need to source the Adobe free view - available from iTunes. 

What happens next

Once the consultation has closed, we will register and review each submission received through the online response form.  We will make all submissions publicly available on the Consultation Hub, unless you request that your submission remain confidential.  We will also publish a summary of consultation (SOC).

The SOC will summarise all feedback received, describe any intended changes and detail our plans for any proposed standards.

Information about how we consult and how to make a confidential submission is available on the CASA website.

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