In this paper, we present a novel methodology to manage arrival traffic in terminal airspace. We define two areas around the airport, aiming to efficiently schedule incoming traffic. A four-dimensional (4D) trajectory negotiation/synchronization process between the air traffic control officer (ATCO) and the aircraft is performed in the pre-sequencing area, while the aircraft are still in the en-route phase of flight. On the other hand, in the dynamic-trajectories area, the ATCO, with the help of a ground support tool, generates dynamic arrival routes that automatically adapt to the current traffic demand. These arrival routes allow the aircraft to fly neutral continuous descent operations (CDOs, descents with idle thrust and no speed-brakes usage) and to ensure a separation throughout the arrival procedure. We choose a mixed-integer-programming approach to generate the arrival routes, while we formulate and solve an optimal control problem to generate a set of candidate CDOs per aircraft. Results show that, with a sufficient look-ahead time, it is possible to assign a required time of arrival (RTA) within each aircraft-arrival time window that would allow to efficiently schedule traffic even in the most challenging and dense scenarios. Besides improving efficiency of current operations in terminal airspace, the methodology presented in this paper could become a technical enabler towards an extended arrival manager (E-AMAN) with extended capabilities and, ultimately, to a fully deployed trajectory based operations (TBO) environment.

In this paper, we present a novel methodology to manage arrival traffic in terminal airspace. We define two areas around the airport, aiming to efficiently schedule incoming traffic. A four-dimensional (4D) trajectory negotiation/synchronization process between the air traffic control officer (ATCO) and the aircraft is performed in the pre-sequencing area, while the aircraft are still in the en-route phase of flight. On the other hand, in the dynamic-trajectories area, the ATCO, with the help of a ground support tool, generates dynamic arrival routes that automatically adapt to the current traffic demand. These arrival routes allow the aircraft to fly neutral continuous descent operations (CDOs, descents with idle thrust and no speed-brakes usage) and to ensure a separation throughout the arrival procedure. We choose a mixed-integer-programming approach to generate the arrival routes, while we formulate and solve an optimal control problem to generate a set of candidate CDOs per aircraft. Results show that, with a sufficient look-ahead time, it is possible to assign a required time of arrival (RTA) within each aircraft-arrival time window that would allow to efficiently schedule traffic even in the most challenging and dense scenarios. Besides improving efficiency of current operations in terminal airspace, the methodology presented in this paper could become a technical enabler towards an extended arrival manager (E-AMAN) with extended capabilities and, ultimately, to a fully deployed trajectory based operations (TBO) environment.

Analysis of the sequence of arriving aircraft, as well as identification of the cases of spacing violations, is an important step in evaluating performance of the Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA) Air Navigation Services: without knowing the current performance levels, it is difficult to identify which areas could be improved. This work presents an enhanced data-driven methodology for evaluation of arrival aircraft sequencing and spacing inside TMA, inspired by the previous research presented by EUROCONTROL EEC [1]. On several use-case examples using historical dataset from Stokholm Arlanda airport, we illustrate how to effectively capture different aspects of flight inefficiency, as well as characterize and quantify sequencing effort and aircraft spacing. This is a contribution towards the development of the adaptive multidimensional key performance indicators (KPIs) tailored to the specific aspects of airspace performance, and designed to serve further airspace optimization initiatives.

This work presents an enhanced optimization framework for fully automated scheduling of energy-efficient continuous-descent arrivals with guaranteed separation in the Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA). On the example of a real heavy-traffic scenario at Stockholm Arlanda airport, we demonstrate that our approach enables scheduling of all planned arrivals during one hour of operation as continuous descents, by allowing flexible time of arrival to entry points within a range of ± 5 minutes. This provides significant savings in the time aircraft spend inside the TMA and a reduced fuel consumption. In addition, we integrate different aircraft wake turbulence categories that enable category-specific separation criteria.