Dynamic airspace configuration: Review and open research issues

With the continuing increase in air traffic, computation of best possible air paths and an optimal execution of the network system, is becoming a challenging research problem. Nowadays, several projects are launched, aimed at modernizing the global air transportation system. This study aims to survey a new concept called Dynamic airspace configuration (DAC) that tried dynamically to resolve the airspace sectorization problems by reducing the airspace congestion and the side effect of the atmospheric phenomena. The DAC is an encouraging concept proposed to convert airspace sectorization from the structured, rigid and static airspace to a dynamic one capable of accommodating dynamically changing traffic demand. The DAC has three main objectives to minimize: (a) the air traffic controllers' workload, (b) the workload difference between controllers, and (c) the changes between consecutive configurations.