airport capacity and_delay

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Airport capacity and delay- Airport Planning & Management

As air traffic levels continue to grow over time, additional demands placed

upon the national airspace system will strain the system’s airport capacity.

The key to keeping pace with future demand is by planning ahead, and to

help with that planning that looks over the horizon at the capacity

challenges ahead.

2008

Nabil Diab

Everglades University, Florida, USA

2008

ASC640- Airport Planning & Management- Supervisor: Prof. Mark Cervasio

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Airport capacity and delay

Capacity refers to the ability of an airport to handle a given volume or magnitude of traffic

(demand) within a specified time period. Four distinct elements in a capacity analysis:

Airspace

Airfield

Terminal

Ground access

Airport and Airway Safety and Capacity Enhancement Act of 1987 (ACEA) gave highest

priority for AIP funding to capacity-enhancing project.

FAA now stipulates that AIP grants can only be issued for capacity enhancement if the airport

certifies that all of its elements can handle the increased traffic.

Airfield Capacity

Airfield capacity is the rate at which aircraft movements on the runway/taxiway system

result in a given level of delay defined by:

Throughput capacity

The rate at which aircraft can operate at the airfield without regard to any

delay

Practical capacity

Subjective value judgment about how much delay is tolerable.

Acceptable level of delay : A judgment that recognizes that some delays are:


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o Unavoidable

o Too expensive to eliminate

o Few aircraft will encounter a higher level than normal

o Number of operations that can be expressed in terms of the

maximum acceptable rate incurring an average delay.

o An airport is severely congested when average delay exceeds 9

minutes.

o Practical capacity is always less than throughput capacity.

Practical hourly capacity (PHOCAP)

Total combined capacity measure of runway, taxiway, and gate

areas.

Practical annual capacity (PANCAP)

Level of operation that results in not more than four minutes

average delay per aircraft in a normal peak two-hour operating

period.

Airport acceptance rate (AAR)

Used by airport radar traffic control centers to calculate the desired

interval between successive arriving aircraft.

FAA measures of delay

o Air Traffic Operations Management System (ATOMS)

Records aircraft delayed by more than 15 minutes.

Includes cause:

Weather


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Terminal volume

Center volume

Closed runways or taxiways

National Airspace System equipment interruptions

o Airline Service Quality Performance (ASQP)

Collected from airlines with 1% or more of total domestic scheduled passenger

revenue, includes all delays, by phase of flight.

Managing capacity

Factors for managing capacity:

o Airfield characteristics

Most critical determinant is runway configuration

o Airspace characteristics and air traffic control

Mile-in trail or minute-in-trail restrictions

Least disruptive traffic management initiatives, however, least

accurate.

Traffic management systems

Software that assists the management of a smooth flow of aircraft

to and from airports with minimum delay

Metering aims to match the arrival of aircraft to the ability of the

airport to handle the volume

Meteorological conditions

Demand characteristics

Spacing standards between aircraft on take-off


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ATC required to double departure times from 60 s to 120 s after a heavy jet

Managing demand

Promote more effective or economically efficient use of existing facilities rather than

adding true capacity

o Administrative management:

Limiting or diverting traffic reduces the need for capital improvements at airports

with capacity problems

Includes restricting access by setting quotas on enplanements or the number and

type of operations

Slots

A block of time allocated to an airport user to perform an aircraft

operation

Term was originally used to identify the authority of an aircraft to

conduct an IFR operation at a high density airport

Slots are controlled by FAA, but can be bought, sold, leased, or

transferred within FAA limitations and approval

Purpose is to alleviate congestion at high demand or high density

airports

Slot auctions allow peak-hour access only to those users willing to

pay a market-determined price

Slots represent one of the most significant barriers to entry in the

airline business


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The high density rule governing slots was implemented in 1969

and formalized in FAR Part 93

Diversion of traffic

Moves traffic (primarily general aviation) to reliever airports

Reduces delay by allowing for greater uniformity of aircraft mix at

an airport

Balances the use of aircraft among several metropolitan air carrier airports

Rehubbing: Using transfer hubs to redistribute operations to less busy

airports

Economic management

Aviation economists favor allocating airport access by demand management,

which relies on a pricing mechanism

Most commonly favored economic management methods of reducing delay:

Differential pricing

Three NYC metropolitan airports reduced congestion by applying

a peak hour surcharge

Slot management

Slot

Block of time allocated to an aircraft to perform an airport

operation

One of the most significant barriers of entry in the airline

business

High density rule


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Implemented in 1969

Formalized under FAR Part 93

Originally only applied to IFR, which allowed

airlines to operate more aircraft under VMC

When weather deteriorates to IMC, airlines

were required to reroute or cancel flights

that exceeded capacity limit

FAA recalls any slot not used 80% of the time over

two months

Allocations

Administrative determinations

Negotiations among airlines

Reservation system

Allocate GA and charter slots on a first come, first

serve basis

Auctions

Advocates argue airport access should be treated as a

scarce resource and priced accordingly

Allow peak-hour access at a market-determined price

FAA has modified FAR Part 93 to incorporate special rules that

allow slots to be purchased, sold, traded, or leased by any party

Technological and weather solutions

Value of technology is measured by its ability to achieve:


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Increased capacity

Higher efficiency or throughput

Greater safety

Improved reliability

Greater accuracy

Lower cost

Greater convenience

National Airspace Architecture

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Intended to be the sole means of future navigation and landing guidance

Coupled with the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and the

Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS)

Decision Support System (DSS) architecture

For air traffic controllers and traffic management coordinators

Provides more functions, information, upgraded displays, and better data

exchange

Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS)

Replacing TRACON equipment

Supports current radar, traffic and weather advisory, and

navigational assistance services

Operational and Supportability Implementation System (OASIS)

Commercial-based DSS


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Incorporates functions currently provided by the graphic weather

display, flight service data processing equipment, aviation weather

processor, and direct user access terminal service

Low Level Wind shear Alert System (LLWAS)

Doppler radars positioned at different locations on and around an airport

Measure wind velocity and direction

Automated Surface Observation Stations (ASOS)

Similar to Automated Weather Observation Systems (AWOS)

Some aviation users have criticized ASOS, because:

It cannot replicate the observations of distant phenomena, such as

thunderstorms

It doesn’t provide a trend analysis of whether conditions are improving or

deteriorating

Sometimes the information transmitted is in error

airport capacity and_delay

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