Optimal Sequencing and Scheduling of Airport Operations

View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-3257.vid Air traffic controllers engage in complex and dynamic decision-making when managing an airspace. This is especially true in the immediate vicinity of an airport. Unlike in en-route or terminal area airspace where aircraft usually traverse well established routes and procedures, near the airport after completing a standard arrival procedure, the routes to the final approach are only partially defined. In this airspace (i.e., 10-12 nautical miles from the airport), the local tower controllers tactically guide aircraft through tromboning and vectoring commands to maintain separation requirements between aircraft and space them out at the runway. In this paper, a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming formulation is used to design the order-sequencing of aircraft at a single runway, by allowing vectoring and tromboning, to maximize airport throughput and minimize the distance traversed while maintaining safety. The mathematical model is formulated by time-metering aircraft at potential conflict points to avoid conflicts. With the goal of building a decision support tool that emulates the control techniques and tactical maneuvers of local tower controllers, the proposed optimization formulation generates conflict-free and safe trajectories that conform to the scheduling.