Availability

Availability

The Availability model provides information about the availability of the Location for aircraft movements, Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting service, Aerodrome Air Traffic Services and Customs and Immigration facilities.

In the aviowiki API the following naming is used to identify these separate services:

  • movement for the availability of the location for take-off and landing without any further guarantee of service

  • arff for Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting services

  • atc for Air Traffic Services

  • ciq for Customs, Immigration and Quarantine facilities

Example

A query for the availability of a Location will return the following JSON data:

{
  "openingIndicator": "SEE_TIMES",
  "arff": [
    {
      "validFrom": "2021-05-17T00:00:00",
      "validTo": "2021-05-17T23:59:59.999999999",
      "status": "FULL",
      "info": {
        "icaoCatAirplane": "VIII",
        "faaCatAirplane": null,
        "faa139Certified": null,
        "catHelicopters": null,
        "waterQuantity": null,
        "complementaryQuantity": null,
        "arffVehicles": null,
        "dischargeCapacity": null,
        "extensionAvailable": null,
        "extensionNotice": null,
        "extensionUpToIcao": null,
        "firestationRemote": null,
        "firestationNotes": null
      }
    }
  ],
  "atc": [
    {
      "validFrom": "2021-05-17T00:00:00",
      "validTo": "2021-05-17T23:59:59.999999999",
      "status": "FULL",
      "info": {
        "enRtfAvailable": true,
        "afisOnly": false
      }
    }
  ],
  "ciq": [
    {
      "validFrom": "2021-05-17T00:00:00",
      "validTo": "2021-05-17T23:59:59.999999999",
      "status": "FULL"
    }
  ],
  "movement": [
    {
      "validFrom": "2021-05-17T00:00:00",
      "validTo": "2021-05-17T06:00:59.999999999",
      "status": "CLOSED"
    },
    {
      "validFrom": "2021-05-17T06:01:00",
      "validTo": "2021-05-17T23:30:59.999999999",
      "status": "FULL"
    },
    {
      "validFrom": "2021-05-17T23:31:00",
      "validTo": "2021-05-17T23:59:59.999999999",
      "status": "LIMITED",
      "notes": null,
      "openFor": [
        {
          "flightTypes": [
            {
              "rules": [],
              "filing": [],
              "airframe": [],
              "status": [
                "HUMANITARIAN",
                "FIREFIGHTING",
                "STATE",
                "HOSPITAL",
                "MEDEVAC",
                "SAR"
              ],
              "purpose": [],
              "direction": null
            }
          ],
          "priorNoticeRequired": 0,
          "costsInvolved": false,
          "other": null
        },
        {
          "flightTypes": [],
          "priorNoticeRequired": 0,
          "costsInvolved": false,
          "other": "Available for emergency diversion"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Each of movement, arff, atc, and ciq have a blocks property which is a list of time-referenced blocks that contain information on the availability of the individual service.

Time reference

The API allows selecting if times returned are with reference to UTC or to Local Time. By default, all times for the Availability Blocks are with reference to the Local Time of the airport being queried.

When Availability times are entered in the aviowiki database, not all times are absolute, as some availability models depend on sunrise and sunset times. Whenever Availability Blocks are returned via the API, all such cases are resolved and times are always provided in an exact form, taking into account sunrise and sunset times where applicable.

Availability blocks

Different services require different properties to express their availability, however, all Availability Blocks have these properties in common:

  • validFrom is an ISO formatted date-time string that indicates when the block starts

  • validTo is an ISO formatted date-time string that indicates when the block ends

  • status is an enumeration that describes the current status of the facility. This can be

    • FULL to indicate that the facility is fully available as described by the object,

    • LIMITED to indicate that the facility is available under certain conditions that cannot be described by the model, or

    • CLOSED to indicate that the facility is not available.

movement Availability

Movement Availability indicates the availability for an aircraft to physically land or take-off at a location, with no guarantee of any other service being rendered.

In addition to the common Availability Block properties, Movement Availability Blocks with status of LIMITED also include the following properties:

  • openFor a list of machine-readable conditions when Movement Availability can be considered equivalent to FULL .

  • notes a string that describes any additional limitation to those listed in openFor and that can be null if none additional exists.

Modelling of LIMITED blocks in Movement Availability

The openFor property is a list of conditions that describe for who, and under what conditions an Airport could be available.

Each exception is described in the flightType object and has some additional conditions associated, to explain how access to the airport is possible.

Below a simplified structure of a Movement Availability block with LIMITED status:

{
  "movement": [
    {
      "validFrom": "2021-05-17T23:31:00",
      "validTo": "2021-05-17T23:59:59.999999999",
      "status": "LIMITED",
      "notes": null,
      "openFor": [
        {
          "flightTypes": [
            {
              "rules": [],
              "filing": [],
              "airframe": [],
              "status": [],
              "purpose": [],
              "direction": null
            }
          ],
          "priorNoticeRequired": 0,
          "costsInvolved": false,
          "other": null
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The properties that define a flight object, under flightTypes are:

Property

Type

Description

rules

List

The flight rules under which the flight operates. Possible options are:

An empty list indicates that there are no specific status requirements for flights. I.e. any flight, regardless of the rules it operates under, can operate

filing

List

The type of flight. Possible options are:

  • SCHEDULED for flights that operate according to a repetitive schedule. ICAO Flightplan S.

  • NON_SCHEDULED for commercial flights that operate on an on-demand basis. ICAO Flightplan N.

  • GENERAL_AVIATION for non-commercial flights that operate on an on-demand basis. ICAO Flightplan G.

  • MILITARYfor flights operated by military organisations. ICAO Flightplan M.

  • OTHER for any flight that does not fall under the above categories. ICAO Flightplan X.

An empty list means that there are not specific requirements for this field. I.e. any flight, regardless of the type of flightplan, can operate

airframe

List

The category of aircraft being used. Possible options are:

  • AEROPLANE for all heavier than the air, fixed-wing aircraft.

  • VTOL for all heavier than the air, rotary wing aircraft.

An empty list indicates that there are no specific status requirements for flights. I.e. any flight, regardless of airframe type, can operate

status

List

Any special status as defined in ICAO Doc 4444, and mentioned in the Flightplan Field 18 under STS/. Possible options are:

  • HUMANITARIAN for a flight operating on a humanitarian mission.

  • FIREFIGHTING for a flight operating on a firefighting mission.

  • STATE for a flight engaged in military, customs or police services.

  • HEAD_OF_STATE for a flight that carries a personality regarded to as the Head of a State.

  • HOSPITAL for a medical flight declared by medical authorities.

  • MEDEVAC for a life critical medical emergency evacuation.

  • SAR for a flight engaged in a Search And Rescue mission.

An empty list indicates that there are no specific status requirements for flights. I.e. any flight, regardless of its status, can operate

purpose

List

The purpose for which the flight is operated. Possible options are:

  • TRAINING for any training flight.

  • CARGO for flights that transport goods.

  • AIRLINE for scheduled or unscheduled flights that transport passengers and are typically available for sale on a per-seat basis. (i.e. holiday charters, flag-carriers, and low-cost airlines).

  • BUSINESS for flights that are operated to transport private individuals on business trips.

  • LEISURE for any flight operated for leisure or pleasure, and that do not fall in any other category.

  • FERRY for any flight operated for the purpose of moving the aircraft from one airport to another.

  • AERIAL_WORK for flights operated for hire or rewars on certain specialised services. For example, agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol, and aerial advertisement.

An empty list indicates that there are no specific flight purpose requirements for flights. I.e. any flight, regardless of its purpose, can operate.

direction

String, null

The direction in which the flight operates, either:

  • DEPARTURE for departing flights, or

  • ARRIVAL for arriving flights.

null indicates that both departures and arrivals are allowed.

Each openFor object contains further properties to describe the conditions that need to be satisfied for the airport to be available to the flights listed.

These additional properties are:

Property

Type

Description

priorNoticeRequired

Number, null

The number of hours, ahead of the movement time, required to give notice of a movement. 0 indicates that notice is required, but availability is immediate. null indicates that no notice is required.

costsInvolved

Boolean

Indicates if there are additional costs involved in accessing the airport for the specific type of flight.

other

String

Any additional condition that cannot otherwise be described.

ciq Availability

CIQ (Customs Immigration and Quarantine) Availability indicates the availability of Customs and Immigration facilities to process aircraft, crew, passengers and cargo as required by local regulations.

The info object for CIQ Availability can only contain notes, if applicable.

atc Availability

ATC (Air Traffic Control) Availability indicates the availability of Air Traffic Services to support aircraft during the final descent, landing and ground movement.

The info object for ATC Availability have the following properties in addition to the base model described before:

  • afisOnly a boolean which when true indicates that only AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service) is provided.

  • enRtfAvailable a boolean which when true indicates that English Radiotelephony is available. This simply means that the radio operator can speak English.

arff Availability

ARFF (Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting) Availability indicates the availability of Rescue and Fire Fighting services to attend in case of an emergency.

The info object for ARFF Availability have the following properties in addition to the base model described before:

  • icaoCatAirplane indicates the ICAO Rescue and Fire Fighting category for airplanes (not helicopters). Possible values are NONE, I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X. null means the information is not available.

  • faaCatAirplane indicates the FAA category. Possible values are NONE, A, B, C, D, E. null indicates that the information is not available.

  • faa139Certified boolean that indicates if the airport is certified according to 14 CFR §139. If true, it means the basis for the ARFF certification are the US rules, which don’t allow for immediate conversion of faaCatAirplane to icaoCatAirplane. If true it indicates that icaoCatAirplane was a value calculated based on the values of waterQuantity, complementaryQuantity, arffVehicles, and dischargeCapacity.

  • catHelicopters indicates the ARFF value for helicopters. Possible values are NONE, I, II, III, IV. null if the information is not available.

  • waterQuantity the total water capacity of all ARFF vehicles available, in litres.

  • complementaryQuantity the total capacity of Complimentary Extinguishing Agent available, in kilograms. null if the information is not available.

  • arffVehicles the number of ARFF vehicles available. null if the information is not available.

  • dischargeCapacity the total discharge capacity of all ARFF vehicles available, in litres per minute. null if the information is not available.

  • extensionAvailable boolean which indicates if an upgrade of the ARFF to a higher category can be arranged. null if the information is not available.

  • extensionNotice amount of hours required to obtain ARFF extension before departure or arrival. null if the information is not available.

  • extensionUpToIcao the maximum ARFF obtainable with extension. This is only available in ICAO format. Possible values are as per icaoCatAirplane. null if the information is not available.

  • firestationRemote boolean which indicates if the ARFF service is offered by a remote fire station, not located at the airfield, for example, a village fire station. null if the information is not available.

  • firestationNotes if firestationRemote is true, this text field allows notes about the location and performance of the remote fire station, for example, to indicate the response time.

The openingIndicator flag

This indicator is produced by the backend and takes into consideration all 4 availabilities at the current time.

Possible values are:

  • OPEN to indicate that all facilities are fully available.

  • SEE_TIMES to indicate that some, potentially non-critical, facilities are not fully available and that the user should check full details.

  • CLOSED to indicate that either movemet or all facilities are not available.

  • UNKNOWN to indicate that there is not enough information to determine the current opening status of the location.

For client implementation, it is recommended that only OPEN and CLOSED statuses are used for decision-making, and that any other status is analyzed in more details or referred to a human for exception management.

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