Methods and systems for inferring aircraft parameters

A method of inferring aircraft performance parameters capable of being used by a trajectory predictor to predict trajectories of an aircraft, the method comprising:

• receiving, by an air traffic control system, trajectory prediction information regarding an aircraft including at least one change point in a predicted vertical profile;
• and then
• using the trajectory prediction information to infer, in a parameter inference process performed by the air traffic control system, aircraft performance parameters of the aircraft that are otherwise unknown to a ground automation system, wherein parameter inference process uses a probability density function initialized with higher probabilities assigned to particular values of an aircraft performance parameter and an updating process to estimate and refine the aircraft performance parameter of the aircraft, and wherein the trajectory prediction information comprises a relative location of the at least one trajectory change point of the aircraft and the aircraft performance parameters comprise takeoff weight of the aircraft inferred from the relative location of the at least one trajectory change point, and the at least one trajectory change comprises at least one of the top of climb or top of descent.