Optimisation models for re-routing air traffic flows in Europe
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Optimisation models for re-routing air traffic flows in Europe P Leal de Matos1*, B Chen2 and RJ Ormerod2 1
Instituto Superior Te´cnico, SAEG, Lisbon, Portugal; and 2Warwick University, Coventry, UK
This paper focuses on the usability of optimisation models to support the re-routing of air traffic flows in Europe. It discusses different modelling approaches and proposes three integer programming models, with different levels of detail, aimed at re-routing air traffic flows. The models are tested on a set of test data based on the actual traffic crossing the whole French upper airspace. The paper arrives at conclusions on the usability, limitations and extensions of the models. Keywords: integer programming; optimisation; air transport
Introduction Congestion in the air transportation system has been plaguing air traffic both in the US and in Europe for nearly 20 y. To protect air traffic control (ATC) from overloads, a planning activity called air traffic flow management (ATFM) emerged during the 1970s. ATFM, by comparing the available capacity with forecast traffic demand some time prior to the flights, tries to anticipate overloads and take control actions to prevent them. In simple terms, the capacity of an ATC sector is defined as the number of flights that the air traffic control team of that sector is able to supervise per period of time, usually one hour. When the traffic expected to cross the sector exceeds the capacity, traffic delays occur. In the summer of 1998, more than 20% of flights in Europe were delayed due to ATC capacity constraints. On average, each of these flights was delayed by more than 20 min.1 It is claimed that delays caused by lack of capacity cost European carriers around $5.4 billion in 1998.2 Moreover, these estimates do not take into account the cost of delays to passengers, or the cost of the heavier burden on the controllers and on other elements of the air transportation system. ATFM tries to limit the extent and impact of those delays. ATFM control actions range from departure delays to rerouting of flights. Departure delay, or ground delay, means delaying departures of flights heading to congested areas. The idea behind it is that, if delays are unavoidable, it is safer and cheaper to delay the flights on the ground than in the air. Flights can be re-routed to bypass already overloaded elements of the airspace or to prevent overloads occurring. *Correspondence: P Leal De Matos, Centre of Business Studies, Instituto Superior Te´cnico SAEG, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal. E-mail: [email protected]
In continental US there is a single body located near Washington DC which coordinates flow management: the Air Traffic Control System Command Center. Congestion problems in the US are experienced mostly at airports. In Europe, a continent with many countries each with its own airspace, coordinated air traffic control and flow management is more di
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