Runway operations planning and control sequencing and scheduling

Recently, the commercial aviation community has experienced a significant increase in demand for air transportation. Despite the advent of new air traffic control (ATC) technologies, this demand increase has not yet been followed by a matching increase in capacity. The capacity/demand mismatch affects ATC airspace and ground operations and results in significant delays during departure operations at major European and US airports. The associated environmental impact and economic inefficiencies generate a growing need for the reduction of such delays. This paper presents ongoing research efforts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the German Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR) to develop automated decision-aiding systems to assist air traffic controllers in handling departure traffic and in mitigating the adverse effects of ground congestion and delays. A possible formulation of the runway operations planning problem is presented with objectives and constraints. Also, a framework for future research work is provided.