Assessing the impacts of the JFK Ground Management Program

The Ground Management Program at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) aims to leverage the availability of comprehensive airport surface surveillance data and airline schedule information to better manage the taxi-out process, reduce taxi times, and improve efficiency. During periods when departure demand exceeds capacity, departing aircraft are held at the gate or another holding location, and released to the runway in time to join a short departure queue before taking off. As a result, aircraft absorb delay with engines off, and decrease their fuel burn, emissions, and engine maintenance costs. This paper evaluates data from before and after departure metering was initiated at JFK, to assess its impacts. The results show that airport performance has improved, and that the departure metering is responsible for a significant portion of the improvements. The paper also finds that the new, more automated, Ground Management Program that was implemented in April 2012 has continued to yield significant benefits. The average taxi-out time savings at JFK due to departure metering in the summer of 2012 is estimated to be about 1.5-2.7 minutes per flight.