Strategic Decision Support for Airside Operations at Commercial Airports

摘要

Airside operations at major commercial airports involve a complex interplay among parties with some competing and some collective interests. Air traffic controllers coordinate approaches to the airport, aircraft movements on the ground and departures from the airport. Operations personnel from individual airlines coordinate activities on the parking ramps and at passenger gates. Support from third parties is often used for catering, cleaning, refueling, de-icing and mechanical repairs. System performance is affected by the concentration of airlines' flight schedules, resources allocated for gate operations, tax-iway and ramp layouts, air traffic control procedures for aircraft on the ground and in the air, adverse weather conditions, traffic backups at major connecting hubs, etc. We present a conceptual framework and discrete-event simulation model for studying how changes in airport infrastructure, traffic intensity, ground resources and operating procedures can affect system performance and individual stakeholders.