Assessing NextGen Operational Improvements: A Case of Airspace Complexity and Aircraft Arrival Management System

摘要

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) supports multiple operational and technological improvements that enable efficiencies for users and service providers. One of the potential components of the NextGen - the Aircraft Arrival Management System (AAMS) is a tool that jointly optimizes timing of arriving traffic to streamline flight arrivals at congested airports. This study utilizes experimental settings to examine the AAMS effect on the terminal area airspace complexity. During the experiment, the air traffic trajectory data before and after the AAMS implementation were collected at two terminal areas: Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). Then, the trajectory data were used to estimate the Reciprocal Square Metrics (RSM) airspace complexity measures that were compared between the baseline and active AAMS periods. The results of the study suggest that potential implementation of AAMS concepts could reduce terminal area complexity at congested airports.