Field observations at Boston Logan International airport and data analyses comparing Logan to other major airports are conducted in order to identify the flow constraints that impede departure operations in an airport system. These observations and the associated analyses are discussed for each of the components of the airport system. It is concluded that the airport sys- tem is a complex interactive queuing system, that the different airport com- ponents contribute to cause delays and inefficiencies to different degrees, and that the runway system is the main flow constraint. The observations and analyses discussed reveal important implications for Departure Plan- ning (DP) tools. The DP tools have competing objectives such as increa- ing the efficiency of the runway system, reducing delays and environmental impact, and maintaining fairness among all airport users and acceptable workload levels for air traffic controllers. The interactions and dynamics between the different components of the airport system determine how and where in the system the DP tools can reduce the delays and inefficiencies most effectively Important interactions between the DP tools and other decision-aiding tools such as the Center TRACON Automation System (CTAS) and the Surface Movement Advisor (SMA) are also discussed.
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