Flexible Air Traffic Control Management

Abstract

Every year, Europe has witnessed a growth in the number of flights in its airspace. According to Eurocontrol - European Organization for the safety of air navigation, it is expected a growth of 50 per cent, for the year of 2035, over the total number of flights when compared to the year of 2012. The biggest concern with such growth is the lack of capacity of the airports to manage this air traffic. With that in mind, there is a necessity of creating a fast, stable and efficient platform to help air traffic controllers in their daily activities, such as managing airport resources and/or controlling flights. As the main purpose of this dissertation is the reduction of the air traffic congestion, it was created a new air traffic controller in the existing platform with functions of both TRACON and En route, like controlling aircraft coming in and going out of the airport's airspace and changing routes in-flight. It is relevant to mention that this controller is omniscient and is able to contact airport controller in order to adjust the flight plans if necessary. Although the introduction of the new controller helps to create a less congested airspace, it is not enough to solve the problem completely. That is why it was implemented a module responsible for the management of the airport airspace. This module is responsible for the holding maneuvers, a way of maintaining the airspace organized while the aircraft wait for their permission to land. Besides the holding procedures and the use of real approach and departure routes, it was created an algorithm to choose the best group of runways to be used in order to increase the flow of the aircraft. To conclude, this platform will benefit significantly the airspace controllers since it will automatize certain duties while helping to avoid the human mistakes. Both passengers and airlines will have huge advantages as the platform will help to reduce delays and its associated costs.