FIXM

FIXM
Name	FIXM
Caption	Flight Information Exchange Model logo
Occupation	Data standard

FIXM

FIXM is a structured aviation data model designed to standardize exchange of aeronautical information among Federal Aviation Administration, EUROCONTROL, International Civil Aviation Organization, Airservices Australia, and industry stakeholders such as Boeing and Airbus. It promotes interoperability between systems operated by organizations including Nav Canada, Deutsche Flugsicherung, NATS (air traffic control), FAA Aeronautical Information Services, and Jeppesen. FIXM underpins integration with initiatives like System Wide Information Management, NextGen (FAA), Single European Sky and supports interoperability with schemas used by SITA (company), Honeywell Aerospace, Thales Group, and Rockwell Collins.

Overview

FIXM provides an information exchange framework used in air traffic management implementations run by entities such as Eurocontrol Experimental Centre, FAA Technical Center, Smiths Group (aviation), NASA Ames Research Center, and Airbus Defence and Space. The model enables consistent message structures for participants including International Air Transport Association, Air Traffic Control Association, ICAO Flight Plan Working Group, Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, and airlines like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Lufthansa. FIXM aligns with metadata standards promulgated by ISO/TC 20/SC 16, IATA Cargo XML, and data practices from Open Geospatial Consortium projects.

History and Development

Development of FIXM traces to collaborations among FAA, EUROCONTROL, and ICAO working groups formed to address interoperability after incidents reviewed by panels such as the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems and exchanges following studies by MITRE Corporation and RAND Corporation. Early prototypes were informed by schema work within RTCA, Inc. and harmonization efforts connected to Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. Key milestones include releases coordinated with programs like NextGen (FAA), SESAR, and technical inputs from MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Leidos. FIXM's evolution involved testbeds run by MITRE, demonstrations with NASA Langley Research Center, and pilots with commercial partners such as UPS Airlines and FedEx Express.

Specification and Architecture

The FIXM specification defines data constructs that integrate with frameworks used by ISO, IETF, and W3C profiles adopted by agencies like National Transportation Safety Board for data sharing and analysis. Architectural components reference messaging patterns compatible with AMQP deployments used by SITA and schema representations that map to XML Schema and JSON Schema for systems from vendors such as General Dynamics and IBM. FIXM structures are often aligned to conceptual models produced by MITRE, harmonized with ontologies from Stanford University research groups, and validated using test suites developed by EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre and FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center.

Implementations and Tools

Implementations of FIXM exist in products from Leidos, Thales Group, Frequentis, and Indra Sistemas integrated into operational environments like those at Heathrow Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and Singapore Changi Airport. Tools for authoring and validating FIXM messages include utilities produced by EUROCONTROL, converters from SITA, and open-source toolkits maintained on platforms similar to those used by Apache Software Foundation projects. Integration adapters link FIXM with surveillance feeds from Raytheon Technologies sensors, flight data records from Black Box Recorder manufacturers, and scheduling systems used by Amadeus IT Group and Sabre Corporation.

Use Cases and Adoption

FIXM is used for tactical and strategic information exchange among stakeholders such as air traffic controllers at centers like NATS Control Centre and FAA Air Route Traffic Control Center, airline operations centers including American Airlines Operations Control, and airport operations at hubs like Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Changi Airport Group. It supports flight planning harmonization aligned with ICAO Flight Plan procedures, integration with collaborative decision-making systems developed by EUROCONTROL and airline alliances such as Star Alliance and Oneworld. Operational adoption includes cross-border data sharing initiatives involving Nav Canada and Naviair as well as research deployments with institutions like Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich.

Governance and Maintenance

Governance of FIXM is coordinated through stewardship by organizations including FAA, EUROCONTROL, and liaison with ICAO panels and standards committees such as RTCA, Inc. and IATA working groups. Maintenance workflows involve inputs from vendors like Boeing, Airbus, Frequentis, and research contributions from MITRE Corporation and NASA. Change control processes reference interoperability testing performed by EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre and validation activities supported by regional authorities including Nav Canada and Airservices Australia.

Category:Aviation data standards