We present an application of a mixed-integer programming (MIP) framework for automatic traffic synchronization, providing safe separation between the arriving traffic within the terminal maneuvering area (TMA) of an airport implementing point merge (PM) procedures. Additionally, the proposed methodology ensures conflict-free operations when departures and arrivals share a common runway. Based on real traffic scenarios for two European airports, we model realistic descent profiles and assume all the arrivals are performing the most fuel-efficient continuous descent operations (CDOs). We compare two scenarios: in the first, the arriving aircraft are strictly forced to adhere to the published arrival route structures, meaning that a turn towards the merge point may not be initiated prior to reaching the point merge system (PMS), while in the second scenario, aircraft may be assigned a shortcut from a published waypoint along the arrival route. We evaluate the resulting arrival flight efficiency and compare it to that of the actual flights, arriving during the hour selected for our optimization, noticing varying benefits for the two airports and whether shortcuts are allowed or not. Given the correct setting for the specific airport, we demonstrate that our approach provides significant benefits, including increased vertical performance as well as reduced time and distance, contributing to lower levels of noise and fuel savings, accompanied by reduced emissions.

In this paper, we introduce a Dantzig-Wolfe reformulation to compute aircraft arrival routes in a terminal maneuvering area (TMA) where the aircraft are flying according to theoptimal continuous-descent-operation (CDO) speed profile with idle thrust. This model assumes fixed entry times for all aircraft and a single separation time that is independent of wake-turbulence categories.Preliminary experiments show that this approach leads to significantly reduced runtimes.Moreover, the results indicate the possiblity of extending the reformulation to the full model and applying it to address additional practical considerations, such as wind effects in the future.

Point Merge (PM) arrival procedure is implemented at multiple airports around the World. There aredifferent PM design variants: with overlapping, partially overlapping or separated sequencing legs, aposition of the sequencing legs inside or outside the TMA, different geometry of the flows to PM ormerging to a point; each coming with a different impact on the trade-offs associated with the structure.

In this work, we investigate the usage of PM procedures in several airports around the globe using open-access ADS-B-based data provided by the OpenSky Network. We analyse arrival flows at the airports with

PM, and propose a catchment algorithm to see which flights from the blend are actually adherent to theprocedure. Then quantify the PM utilization by applying the performance indicators specifically designedfor this purpose.

Terminal areas often experience significant performance degradation due to limited airspacecapacity and operational resources, which unavoidably contributes to the increased environ-mental footprint of the aviation sector. In this paper, we present our work on the developmentof the new performance evaluation metrics for efficient, fair and comprehensive quantitativeassessment of the arrival operations within the Terminal Maneuvering Areas (TMAs). Weinvestigate existing metrics, develop new ones and study dependencies between them, targetingcreation of the comprehensive performance assessment framework. Using open-source historicalflight data, we test the framework on several airports in Europe which implement differentarrival procedures. The newly introduced performance metrics have a potential to predict theTMA performance based of the characteristics of the arrival flows to TMA.

The paper focuses on the performance assessment of the arrival operations in Oslo Gardermoen airport implementing point merge (PM) procedures. We take a data-driven approach based on the open-source ADS-B data, and conduct a detailed performance assessment utilizing a diverse set of performance indicators, including newly developed metrics for better understanding of the PM specifics. The results of the performance evaluation indicate that the PM systems are currently underutilized in Oslo airport, and their increased usage may lead to the improved arrival performance, especially during the peak time periods.