Airports

Methodology for Estimating Airport Capacity and Throughput Performance Using PDARS

Jasenka Rakas
2006

This study develops a methodology for assessing airport performance and establishing airport efficiency metrics for runway and airport utilization. We focus on the estimates of landing time intervals for each consecutive pair of aircraft for each runway and then aggregate micro aircraft-landing data to runway level, airport-configuration level and airport level. By combining two databases, Performance Data Analysis Reporting System (PDARS) and Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM), we are able to explicitly consider traffic mix, the effects of traffic demand and the impact of weather...

Statistical Modeling and Analysis of Landing Time Intervals: Case Study of Los Angeles International Airport, California

Jasenka Rakas
Yin, Huifang
2005

Existing literature suggests that analyses of landing time intervals employ simple statistical models based on time-separation histograms, usually approximated by normal distributions. Although the literature focuses on important issues such as safety, capacity improvements, and separation rules, it does not take into account another important issue: the possible, unique behavior of airlines, pilots, and controllers. In this study such possible, unique behavior is taken into account and a statistical analysis on landing time intervals is performed to find the operational properties of Los...

Deterministic Models for Degraded Airside Capacity and Delays

Jasenka Rakas
Schonfeld, Paul
2004

This paper presents deterministic models for estimating airspace and airport capacity and delays during equipment outages. The National Airspace System (NAS) is very complex and consists of almost 48,000 reportable facilities and services that support air traffic control with very diverse functions and technologies. To better understand NAS performance and develop a methodology for estimating degraded capacity, previous studies about equipment outages and about airspace and airport performance are first reviewed. A deterministic aircraft separation model is used to estimate degraded...

Airport Availability Modelling: A Different Perspective

Jasenka Rakas
Hecht, Myron
2007

This study proposes a systems-level approach to airport and runway availability assessments and prediction, and addresses the problem of the aging or continuously degrading aviation infrastructure. Although the availability block diagrams are often used in the availability assessment of aerospace and electronic systems, their application to the airport availability problem on a system level, developed in this study, is novel. The proposed methodology is intended for short-term and long-term planning of the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) equipment acquisition, and...

Trends in Aircraft Sizing and Fleet Mix

Jasenka Rakas
2007

This paper analyzes current trends in aircraft characteristics and fleet mix and the implications of these trends on airport design. The airline industry is continuously exploring new ways of efficiently and economically operating their fleets in order to overcome the economic and financial pressures of a competitive operating environment. In response to these challenges, airlines are introducing aircraft into their fleets with lower fuel consumption and geometric characteristics to improve aircraft performance and efficiency. In the near future, the efficiency of gate operations and other...

Greener Transportation Infrastructure: Theoretical Concepts for the Environmental Evaluation of Airports

Fann, Jean-Christophe
Jasenka Rakas
2011

The presented methodology has two fundamental goals: first, to foster greener design practices among airport managers, planners, and designers, and second, to establish a dynamic dialogue between all airport stakeholders, while overcoming the shortcomings of traditional environmental impact assessments and thus ensuring capacity enhancement. The innovative aspects of the methodology are the combination of a flexible implementation strategy, the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) with cost and utility functions, and a structured definition of environmental sustainability...

An Analysis of Controller-Pilot Miscommunication in the NextGen Environment

Skaltsas, Gerasimos
Jasenka Rakas
Karlaftis, Matthew
2012

This paper extends prior research on miscommunication between air traffic controllers and pilots by developing statistical models to predict the outcome of communications within the scope of Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) I the Next Generation Air Transportation (NextGen) environment.

Modeling the Impact of Equipment Outages on National Airspace System Operations

Jasenka Rakas
Yin, Huifang
2012

This study is part of a larger effort initiated by the FAA’s System Capacity Office, Capacity Initiative Division, toward developing a methodology for assessing airport performance and establishing airport efficiency metrics for runway and airport utilization.

NextGen, the Next Generation Air Transportation System: Transforming Air Traffic Control from Ground-Based and Human-Centric to Satellite-Based and Airplane-Centric

Dunlay Jr, William J.
Jasenka Rakas
2011

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is a congressionally mandated initiative to modernize the U.S. air traffic control system through satellite-based technologies that can increase the precision of aircraft flight paths, radar displays, and operating times, improving capacity, efficiency, predictability, flexibility, environmental effects, and safety. Several critical milestones have been achieved, but the long time frame for implementation raises challenges.

Optimal Time Advance in Terminal Area Arrivals: Throughput vs. Fuel Savings

Sadovsky, Alexander V.
Swenson, Harry N.
Haskell, William B.
Jasenka Rakas
2011

The current operational practice in scheduling air traffic arriving at an airport is to adjust flight schedules by delay, i.e. a postponement of an aircraft's arrival at a scheduled location, to manage safely the FAA-mandated separation constraints between aircraft. To meet the observed and forecast growth in traffic demand, however, the practice of time advance (speeding up an aircraft toward a scheduled location) is envisioned for future operations as a practice additional to delay. Time advance has two potential advantages. The first is the capability to minimize, or at least reduce,...