A CD&CR causal model based on path shortening/path stretching techniques

Abstract

Some attempts have been done to alleviate the airspace congestion in Terminal Manoeuvring Area (TMA): reduced vertical separation minima, negotiation of voluntary reductions in scheduled service, construction of additional runways at major airports. However, there is still a pending matter to be solved regarding the efficiency of the airspace use, by avoiding non-efficient procedures such as holdings. In line with the requirements of the future air traffic management (ATM) concepts proposed by SESAR and NextGen, the air-traffic flow needs to be more predictable to offer the possibility of more effective use of airspace and airport capacity. In the context of SESAR, 4D trajectory management is expected to improve air traffic operations, in particular to increase the overall predictability of traffic, with benefit to airlines and air traffic management. A deep knowledge concerning the events that take place in the air traffic management of 4D trajectories and their interactions in a TMA is essential to remove non-effective operations, avoid delay propagation between arrivals and optimise the occupancy of the runway. The present paper describes a discrete event model, based on Coloured Petri-Nets formalism, useful to specify a conflict detection and conflict resolution algorithm focusing on the arrival phase of flight. The causal model developed considers different alternative pre-defined turning points for each flight by evaluating path shortening/path stretching of all trajectories upwards the assigned merging points in a TMA.