"The objectives of META-CDM (Multimodal, Efficient Transportation inAirports and Collaborative Decision Making) are to study theconditions under which Collaborative Decision Making, which has beenso successful at enabling advanced air transportation concepts such asground delay programs and airport departure managers, can help airtransportation stakeholders deal with major disruptive events thataffect civil aviation. Crisis events cause the air transport systemand society huge cost and the passenger bears the practicalconsequences. This project will take an integrated look at theeffectiveness of airside and landside CDM and its effectiveness inminimizing the impact upon the traveler. In this work, the passengerbecomes the center of attention, and the goal is to make his journeyas short and as efficient as possible, beginning when he leaves hisliving or working quarters at his origin location and ending when hedrops his luggage at home or at the hotel. The possible impediments totravel are highly disruptive events, such as strong snow storms,volcano ash clouds or labour unrest. We will examine the coherence andco-ordination of the many systems that are part of delivering thetraveler through an airport and, when crisis hits, how wellcontingency plans can help to minimize penalties to the passenger. Thepassenger-centric approach also looks at how alternative transportmodes and communication can step in during crisis situations tominimize personal disruption.This study will deliver a broad understanding of systems strengths andweaknesses, the areas where co-ordination can be improved and anassessment of the implications of disruptive events from manyperspectives. It will also deliver a comprehensive update onairside-CDM throughout the world. Clear messages in these areas willhelp scope the frame for new EU research that can deliver toolsand procedures to ensure greater system resilience and a betterpassenger experience when crises strike."