Aircraft Surface Movement and Operation Monitoring Systems in General Aviation and Commercial Airports: A State-of-the-Art Review

Airports are a critical component of the civil infrastructure system, serving as the main entry and exit points for both people and goods. Aircraft operations on airfields are monitored by personnel working at airport air traffic control (ATC) towers. These ground-based traffic controllers deliver advisory services and flight data documentation. Advances in surveillance systems by means of radio, image, and acoustic-based technologies have emerged to help airports monitor aircraft operations on airfields. These systems can provide personnel at control towers with additional information about the aircraft ground traffic or facilitate automation of airport operations monitoring at non-towered airports. Therefore, this article provides a critical review of different aircraft monitoring systems developed for commercial and general aviation airports, which are growing fast with the emerging volume of lightweight aircraft. The technical review is comprised of two sections: (1) advanced surface movement guidance and control systems; (2) automatic airport operation monitoring systems. Each section is categorized based on the sensor technology. For each technology, we review different applications, methodological approaches, as well as shortcomings and strengths. Finally, based on the identified research gaps for each system, we propose future research directions that could further improve these systems for airport practitioners. The important aspect that distinguishes this review paper is its special attention to opportunities to adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to improve these monitoring systems. The presented review can also serve as a technical reference point for scholars working in the areas of airfield operations monitoring.