Major European Airports Research Articles

An investigation of shift and break flexibility with real-time break assignments using a rolling horizon approach

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the benefits that flexibility offers in daily shift scheduling, especially when demand is uncertain. The different forms of flexibility considered include shift start times, the number of breaks, break lengths, and break placement. Five related mixed-integer programming models are developed and used to compare break scheduling in advance and either sequentially or in real time for various shift and break profiles. The first model integrates the shift and break assignments while the second model assigns shifts only. The third and fourth models assume an optimal set of shifts. In the former case, the goal is to assign as many breaks as possible without violating demand requirements; in the latter case, the objective is to minimize undercoverage while ensuring that all shifts receive their required breaks. The fifth model takes a rolling horizon approach and provides the greatest advantage when responding to unexpected demand fluctuations over the day. Tests were performed using work requirements for ground handlers at a major European airport and showed in part that when demand is known and the most flexible break type is used, the total uncovered periods in a day can be decreased by up to 94% (down from 270 to 16). When demand is uncertain, we found that using our rolling horizon procedure reduces undercoverage by up to 41% compared to scheduling breaks in advance.

Column Generation for Outbound Baggage Handling at Airports

The planning of outbound baggage handling at international airports is challenging. Outgoing flights have to be assigned and scheduled to handling facilities at which the outgoing baggage is loaded into containers. To avoid disruptions of the system the objective is to minimize workload peaks over the entire system. The resource demand of the jobs that have to be scheduled depends on the arrival process of the baggage. In this paper we present a time-indexed mathematical programming formulation for planning the outbound baggage. We propose an innovative decomposition procedure in combination with a column generation scheme to solve practical problem instances. The decomposition significantly reduces the symmetry effect in the time-indexed formulation and also speeds up the computational time of the corresponding Dantzig–Wolfe formulation. To further improve our column generation algorithm we propose state-of-the-art acceleration techniques for the primal problem and the pricing problem. Computational results based on real data from a major European airport show that the proposed procedure reduces the maximal workloads by more than 60% compared to the current assignment procedure used. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2017.0739 .

Analysis of potential wake vortex encounters at a major European airport

PurposeIn this study, 12 potential wake vortex encounters that were reported at a major European airport have been investigated. Because almost all encounters occurred in ground proximity, most pilots conducted a go-around. The primary purpose of this study is to discriminate between incidents caused by wake vortices or rather by effects like wind shear or turbulence. Detailed knowledge of real-world encounter scenarios and identification of worst-case conditions during the final approach constitute highly relevant background information to assess the standard scenario used for the definition of revised wake turbulence separations.Design/methodology/approachWake vortex predictions using the probabilistic two-phase wake vortex model (P2P) are used to investigate the incidents in detail by using data from the flight data recorder, meteorological instrumentation at the airport and numerical weather prediction.FindingsIn the best documented cases, the flight tracks through the vortices could be reconstructed in good agreement with wake vortex predictions and recorded aircraft reactions. Out of the eight plausible wake vortex encounters, five were characterized by weak crosswinds below 1.5 m/s combined with tailwinds. This meteorological situation appears favourable for encounters because, on the one hand, weak crosswinds may compensate the self-induced lateral propagation of the upwind vortex, such that it may hover over the runway directly in the flight path of the following aircraft. On the other hand, tailwinds limit the propagation of the so-called end effects caused by the breakdown of lift during touchdown.Practical implicationsThe installation of plate lines beyond the runway tails may improve safety by reducing the number of wake vortex encounters.Originality/valueThe conducted investigations provide high originality and value for both science and operational application.

Integration of aircraft ground movements and runway operations

The Ground Routing Problem focuses on finding the optimal routing of aircraft from parking stands to runways. The Runway Sequencing Problem consists in ordering the sequence of takes-offs and landings on runways. We study the integration of these two problems with the aim of simultaneously increasing runway efficiency and reducing taxi times. We propose a heuristic sequential approach based on a novel mathematical formulation. We test our methods using real data of a major European airport. Our approach significantly reduces the total completion and taxi times within reasonable computation times, making it viable to be used in daily operations.

Comparison between modelled and measured NO<SUB align="right">X concentrations in aircraft plumes at Athens International Airport

Although airports provide several benefits for our society, communities in the vicinity of airports are subjected to the deterioration of air quality. This environmental problem is becoming greater because of increasing air traffic, which is quite often associated with the expansion of airports and the continuous growth of moving closer and closer to airports. The analysis of emission inventories from major European and Ukrainian airports has highlighted that aircraft is the dominant source of air pollution in most cases considered. To assess the impact of aircraft engine emissions to local air quality (LAQ) it is important to recall some features, which define emission and dispersion parameters of the source. The complex model PolEmiCa provides the dispersion (Pollution) and inventory (Emission) calculations for the aircraft engine emission during the landing-takeoff-cycle (LTO)-cycle of the aircraft movement inside the airport area. This paper is devoted to the validation of the complex model PolEmiCa using the results of a measurement campaign at Athens International Airport (AIA).

Comparison between modelled and measured NO<SUB align="right">X concentrations in aircraft plumes at Athens International Airport

Although airports provide several benefits for our society, communities in the vicinity of airports are subjected to the deterioration of air quality. This environmental problem is becoming greater because of increasing air traffic, which is quite often associated with the expansion of airports and the continuous growth of moving closer and closer to airports. The analysis of emission inventories from major European and Ukrainian airports has highlighted that aircraft is the dominant source of air pollution in most cases considered. To assess the impact of aircraft engine emissions to local air quality (LAQ) it is important to recall some features, which define emission and dispersion parameters of the source. The complex model PolEmiCa provides the dispersion (Pollution) and inventory (Emission) calculations for the aircraft engine emission during the landing-takeoff-cycle (LTO)-cycle of the aircraft movement inside the airport area. This paper is devoted to the validation of the complex model PolEmiCa using the results of a measurement campaign at Athens International Airport (AIA).

Викиди зважених часток від повітряних суден під час експлуатації в межах аеропорту

Мета: Викиди авіадвигунів в межах приземного граничного шару під час етапів зльоту та посадки призводять до значного погіршення якості повітря в межах аеропорту та на прилеглих житлових територіях. На сьогодні, основними об'єктами забруднення повітря в аеропортах є оксиди азоту і зважені частки (ЗЧ10, ЗЧ2.5 і ультрадісперсні ЗЧ), які спричиняють виникнення відповідно фотохімічного смогу та туману з наступними несприятливими наслідками для здоров’я населення. Аналіз результатів інвентаризації викидів ЗЧ у головних аеропортах Європи вказує на домінантність викидів авіадвигунів та допоміжної силової установки. Стаття спрямована на аналіз теоретичних та експериментальних досліджень із розподілу часток за розміром у викидах авіадвигунів, а також особливостей їх морфології та внутрішньої структури, оскільки зазначені властивості мають важливе значення для розуміння потенційного впливу ЗЧ на здоров'я населення. Стаття також надає детальний опис основних методів розрахунку викидів та дисперсії ЗЧ від авіадвигуна протягом злітно-посадкового циклу повітряного судна. Методи: аналітичне розв'язання рівняння атмосферної дифузії використовується для розрахунку максимальної концентрації ЗЧ від точкового джерела емісії. Концентрація ЗЧ змінюється обернено пропорційно швидкості вітру u1 і прямо пропорційно вертикальній складовій коефіцієнту турбулентного обміну k1/u1. Оцінка концентрації нелетучої ЗЧ враховує розмір і форму ЗЧ. Модель PolEmiCa обчислює розподіл фракцій ЗЧ у викидах від авіадвигунів та ДСУ (висота установки H = 4,5 м для Ту-154). Результати: Максимальна концентрація ЗЧ у викидах ДСУ вища, а відповідна відстань менша, у порівнянні з випадком для газу. Полідисперсність призводить до розподілу максимумів концентрацій в просторі для окремих фракцій за напрямком вітру, що призводить до зменшення загальної максимальної концентрації. Обговорення: Хоча емісія ДСУ сягає рівня авіадвигунів, викиди ДСУ не сертифіковані ІСАО. Отже, зазначена проблема є актуальною для місцевої якості повітря, зокрема для розробки моделі та визначення методів виявлення складової викидів авіадвигунів і ДСУ у загальне забруднення повітря аеропорту ЗЧ.

Does aircraft noise exposure increase the risk of hypertension in the population living near airports in France?

ObjectivesThe largest study until now around 6 major European airports, the HYENA (HYpertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) study, reported an excess risk of hypertension related to long-term aircraft...

Airport noise predicts song timing of European birds

Anthropogenic noise is of increasing concern to biologists and medical scientists. Its detrimental effects on human health have been well studied, with the high noise levels from air traffic being of particular concern. However, less is known about the effects of airport noise pollution on signal masking in wild animals. Here, we report a relationship between aircraft noise and two major features of the singing behavior of birds. We found that five of ten songbird species began singing significantly earlier in the morning in the vicinity of a major European airport than their conspecifics at a quieter control site. As birds at both sites started singing before the onset of air traffic in the morning, this suggests that the birds in the vicinity of the airport advanced their activity to gain more time for unimpaired singing before the massive plane noise set in. In addition, we found that during the day, chaffinches avoided singing during airplane takeoffs, but only when the noise exceeded a certain threshold, further suggesting that the massive noise caused by the airport can impair acoustic communication in birds. Overall, our study indicates that birds may be adjusting their mating signals and time budgets in response to aircraft noise.

Моделювання та вимірювання концентрацій NOx у струмені газів від авіадвигуна за експлуатаційних умов на території аеродрому

Мета: Забруднення повітря аеропортів є актуальною проблемою через зростання обсягів авіаційних перевезень щорічно на 5%, а також у зв’язку із дедалі більшим наближенням житлових районів до аеропортів (зокрема для таких аеропортів України, як Київ («Жуляни»), Львів, Одеса, Харків, Донецьк, Запоріжжя. Аналіз результатів інвентаризації джерел викидів забруднюючих речовин (ЗР) у головних аеропортах Європи та України вказує на домінантність викидів ЗР від авіаційних двигунів (АД) у зоні аеропорту. Для успішного розв’язання зазначеної екологічної проблеми необхідно організувати контроль емісії ЗР від АД налагодженням системи інструментального моніторингу та розрахункових моделей забруднення повітря в межах та на прилеглих територіях аеропорту. Методи: Вимірювання NOx концентрацій у струмені газів від авіадвигунів було виконано на базі хемілюмінесцентного методу за реальних експлуатаційних умов (руління, приземлення, розбіг уздовж злітно-посадкової смуги та зліт повітряного судна) у межах міжнародного аеропорту «Бориспіль». Розрахунок NOx концентрацій було виконано за комплексною моделлю PolEmiCa з урахуванням процесів переносу та розбавлення домішок ЗР струменем газів від АД та вихровою пеленою від крила повітряного судна. Результати: Представлено результати вдосконалення комплексної моделі PolEmiCa за рахунок урахування впливу параметрів струменя (висота спливання, дисперсія меж та далекобійність), земної поверхні та вихрової пелени від крила на процеси переносу та розбавлення домішок забруднюючих речовин у викидах авіадвигунів. Наведено результати перевірки достовірності вдосконаленої комплексної моделі PolEmiCa на підставі результатів експериментального дослідження в межах міжнародного аеропорту «Бориспіль». Отже, запропонований комбінований підхід інструментального моніторингу з розрахунковими моделями забезпечує точніше виявлення та визначення складової емісії АД у локальному та регіональному забрудненні атмосферного повітря у межах та на околиці аеропорту. Так, розрахункові моделі надають обґрунтування для схеми розміщення станцій інструментального моніторингу з метою виявлення максимальної концентрації, яка формується в струмені від кожного АД досліджуваного повітряного судна.

Benchmarking the noise-oriented efficiency of major European airports: A directional distance function approach

The EU Environmental Noise Directive (END) requires member states to produce noise action plans for all major airports every five years. Using that data, this paper employs a directional distance function approach to estimate noise-oriented efficiency of 60 European airports between 2006 and 2011. Technical change is calculated using the Malmquist productivity index. The results indicate that European airports have improved their noise efficiency between 2006 and 2011, and some degree of convergence in noise performance across countries is seen. Larger aircraft size is linked to better noise performance. Inefficient airports would also benefit from more stringent night movement limits.

Scheduling models for optimal aircraft traffic control at busy airports: Tardiness, priorities, equity and violations considerations

This work addresses the real-time optimization of take-off and landing operations at a busy terminal control area in case of traffic congestion. Terminal areas are becoming the bottleneck of the entire air traffic control system, in particular in the major European airports, where there is a limited possibility to build new infrastructure. The real-time problem of effectively managing aircraft operations is particularly challenging, since it is necessary to incorporate the safety regulations into the optimization model and to consider numerous performance indicators that are important to compute good quality solutions. However, in practice there is no well-recognized objective function and traffic controllers often use simple scheduling rules. In this paper, mixed integer linear programming formulations are proposed to investigate the trade-off between various performance indicators of practical interest, while taking into account the safety constraints with a high modeling precision. Experiments are performed for the two major Italian airports, Milano Malpensa and Roma Fiumicino, by simulating various sets of random landing and take-off aircraft disturbances. Practical-size instances are solved to (near)optimality via a commercial solver. The optimized solutions are also compared with a commonly used scheduling rule. A comprehensive computational analysis makes possible the selection of those solutions that are able to find a good compromise among the various indicators and, consequently, the investigation of the most representative formulation.

Estimation of buoyancy effect and penetration length of jet from aircraft engine by large eddy simulation method

Emission inventories analysis at major European and Ukrainian airports highlighted that aircraft is a dominant source of air pollution. To evaluate the aircraft contribution in airport air quality it is important to take in mind some features of the aircraft, as special source of air pollution. The most part of landing-take-off cycle the aircraft is manoeuvring on the ground, it is subjected to fluid flow that can create a strong vortex between the ground and engine nozzle, which have essential influence on structure and basic mechanisms (Coanda and buoyancy effects) of exhaust gases jet from aircraft engine. To evaluate the influence of the ground on jet's parameters (height and longitudinal coordinate of buoyancy effect, length of jet penetration), the numerical simulation of wall jet by Fluent 6.3 implemented for different combination of initial jet velocity and height of engine installation. Obtained results of numerical simulations provide improvement of model PolEmiCa.

Obtaining the optimal fleet mix: A case study about towing tractors at airports

Planes do not have a reverse gear. Hence, they need to be towed by tractors when leaving the gate. Towing tractors differ with respect to investment as well as variable costs and plane type compatibility. We propose a model which addresses the problem of a cost minimal fleet composition to support towing service providers in their strategic investment decisions. The model takes into account a maximum lifetime, a minimum duration of use, an overhaul option and a sell option. In a case study with a major European airport (our cooperating airport) we generate a multi-period fleet investment schedule. Furthermore, we introduce a 4-step approach for demand aggregation based on flight schedule information. We analyze the impact of demand variation, flight schedule disruptions and cost structure on the optimal buy, overhaul and sell policy. The scenario analyses demonstrate the robustness of the investment schedule with respect to these factors. Ignoring the existing fleet, a green field scenario reveals saving potentials of more than 5% when applying this model.

Exact and heuristic approaches to the airport stand allocation problem

The Stand Allocation Problem (SAP) consists in assigning aircraft activities (arrival, departure and intermediate parking) to aircraft stands (parking positions) with the objective of maximizing the number of passengers/aircraft at contact stands and minimizing the number of towing movements, while respecting a set of operational and commercial requirements. We first prove that the problem of assigning each operation to a compatible stand is NP-complete by a reduction from the circular arc graph coloring problem. As a corollary, this implies that the SAP is NP-hard. We then formulate the SAP as a Mixed Integer Program (MIP) and strengthen the formulation in several ways. Additionally, we introduce two heuristic algorithms based on a spatial and time decomposition leading to smaller MIPs. The methods are tested on realistic scenarios based on actual data from two major European airports. We compare the performance and the quality of the solutions with state-of-the-art algorithms. The results show that our MIP-based methods provide significant improvements to the solutions outlined in previously published approaches. Moreover, their low computation makes them very practical.

Effects of corruption on efficiency of the European airports

The effect of corruption on airport productive efficiency is analyzed using an unbalanced panel data of major European airports from 2003 to 2009. We first compute the residual (or net) variable factor productivity using the multilateral index number method and then apply robust cluster random effects model in order to evaluate the importance of corruption. We find strong evidence that corruption has negative impacts on airport operating efficiency; and the effects depend on the ownership form of the airport. The results suggest that airports under mixed public–private ownership with private majority achieve lower levels of efficiency when located in more corrupt countries. They even operate less efficiently than fully and/or majority government owned airports in high corruption environment. We control for economic regulation, competition level and other airports’ characteristics. Our empirical results survive several robustness checks including different control variables, three alternative corruption measures: International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) corruption index, Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Control of Corruption Index (CCI). The empirical findings have important policy implications for management and ownership structuring of airports operating in countries that suffer from higher levels of corruption.

Оцінка індексів емісії авіадвигунів за реальних експлуатаційних умов у зоні аеропорту

У роботі викладено результати аналізу методів, засобів та принципів вимірювання емісії авіадвигунів в умовахголовних аеропортів Європи. Досліджено вплив реальних експлуатаційних та метеорологічних умов на величини індексів емісії авіадвигунів. На підставі аналізу стендових випробувань авіадвигуна типу CFM56-5С2 для крейсерського режиму та режиму малого газу встановлено кількісні залежності величин індексів емісії від температури атмосферного повітря, напрацювання та витрати палива (режиму роботи) авіадвигуна. Різниця, виявлена за результатами порівняльного аналізу виміряних індексів емісії та наданих показників ICAO,зумовлена тим, що реальні експлуатаційні умови не відповідають умовам сертифікації ICAO, зокрема захарактеристиками тяги двигуна. Обґрунтовано доцільність урахування реальних експлуатаційних (показник тяги та період напрацювання авіадвигуна) та метеорологічних (температура атмосферного повітря) умов на величини індексів емісії авіадвигуна з метою вдосконалення процедури інвентаризації викидів авіадвигунів та взагалі підвищення ефективності стратегії регулювання якості повітря в межах та околиці аеропорту.

Effects of Corruption on Efficiency of the European Airports

The effect of corruption on airport productive efficiency is analyzed using an unbalanced panel data of major European airports from 2003 to 2009. We first compute the residual (or net) variable factor productivity using the multilateral index number method and then apply robust cluster random effects model in order to evaluate the importance of corruption. We find strong evidence that corruption has negative impacts on airport operating efficiency; and the effects depend on the ownership form of the airport. The results suggest that airports under mixed public-private ownership with private majority achieve lower levels of efficiency when located in more corrupt countries. They even operate less efficiently than fully and/or majority government owned airports in high corruption environment. We control for economic regulation, competition level and other airportsi characteristics. Our empirical results survive several robustness checks including different control variables, three alternative corruption measures: International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) corruption index, Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Control of Corruption Index (CCI). The empirical findings have important policy implications for management and ownership structuring of airports operating in countries that suffer from higher levels of corruption.

An approach to collaborative learning and the serious game development

This paper presents the overall learning process that evolved during the MASCA project (MAnaging System Change in Aviation—EU FP7 funded project (2010–2013), specifically focusing on the one of the key elements of the overall learning approach, the development of a serious game (SKYBOARD) and the role the game played in supporting the implementation of airport collaborative decision-making (A-CDM) in a major European airport. The underlying principles of the learning process was based on ongoing and collaborative learning in the workplace, with each phase of learning involving preparation and guidance, collaborative learning, consolidation of that learning and practically focused next steps that can be deployed to support overall change management. The aim of SKYBOARD was to aid communication and collaboration when introducing A-CDM, and thereby supporting the cultural change that comes with this introduction. The development of SKYBOARD was based upon an initial training needs analysis and an iterative development and implementation approach at a major European airport. The research demonstrated that we are at the beginning of a fundamental shift in the way both learning and working is happening in organisations. Therefore, the establishment of a collaborative learning process and integrated learning package needs to focus on supporting continuous performance improvement and learning (competency and capability at all levels) and to ensure this overall learning is fully aligned to the overall strategic blueprint of the organisation. The evaluation of SKYBOARD demonstrated that serious games can support collaborative learning and enhanced communication and that such games should be key resource in any learning environment and proved to be a highly effective support to the implementation of A-CDM in this case.

An economic–geographic assessment of the potential for a new air transport hub in post-Gaddafi Libya

Post-war Libya is faced with the challenge of adopting an air transport strategy for the future. One issue is how to address projects inaugurated under the Gaddafi government, such as the terminal extension at Tripoli International Airport. Additionally, the state-owned Afriqiyah Airlines had been establishing a niche hub in Tripoli before the 2011 war, but this development has subsequently been stalled.Against this background, we analyse the prospects of an air transport hub operation in Libya, focusing on traffic between Africa and Europe, from a bird’s-eye economic–geographic view. First, a literature review is undertaken to identify general success factors for air transport hubs. Second, a weighted average distance penalty (WADP) indicator is developed and applied to Tripoli as a potential hub location. This indicator considers all 4755 O&Ds between Europe and Africa with more than 100 passengers in 2012. For sensitivity reasons, alternative WADPs are estimated for the 3209 traffic flows not including North Africa and for (forecasted) future air traffic demand in 2020. The results for Tripoli International Airport are benchmarked against competing hub locations, such as Algiers, Cairo, and the major European airports. We conclude by discussing the implications of the current and anticipated future security and economic situation in the country.