Airport capacity: representation, estimation, optimization

A major goal of air traffic management is to strategically control the flow of traffic so that the demand at an airport meets but does not exceed the operational capacity. This paper considers the major aspects of airport operational capacities relevant to the strategic management of air traffic. A representation of airport capacity that properly reflects an airport's operational limits is discussed. A method is presented for estimating practical airport capacities under various operational conditions. A technique is proposed for optimizing the available airport capacity to best satisfy the expected traffic demand. The optimization is achieved by considering arrival and departure operations as interdependent processes and by strategically allocating the airport capacity between arrival and departures. The underlying mathematical model is presented, as well as numerical examples illustrating the benefits when solving airport congestion problems.