Imposing Speed Constraints on Arrival Flights: Case Study for Changi Airport

Authors: S. Aneeka, S.M. Phyoe, R. Guo, Z.W. Zhong

Abstract:

Arrival flights tend to spend long waiting times at holding stacks if the arrival airport is congested. However, the waiting time spent in the air in the vicinity of the arrival airport may be reduced if the delays are distributed to the cruising phase of the arrival flights by means of speed control. Here, a case study was conducted for the flights arriving at Changi Airport. The flights that were assigned holdings were simulated to fly at a reduced speed during the cruising phase. As the study involves a single airport and is limited to imposing speed constraints to arrivals within 200 NM from its location, the simulation setup in this study could be considered as an application of the Extended Arrival Management (E-AMAN) technique, which is proven to result in considerable fuel savings and more efficient management of delays. The objective of this experiment was to quantify the benefits of imposing cruise speed constraints to arrivals at Changi Airport and to assess the effects on controllers’ workload. The simulation results indicated considerable fuel savings, reduced aircraft emissions and reduced controller workload.

Keywords: Aircraft emissions, air traffic flow management, controller workload, fuel consumption.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1315677

References:

[1] Belkoura, S., Peña, J.M., & Zanin, M. “Generation and recovery of airborne delays in air transport.” Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 2016, Vol. 69, pp.436-450.
[2] Cook, Andrew J., Graham Tanner., & Stephen Anderson. "Evaluating the true cost to airlines of one minute of airborne or ground delay." EUROCONTROL, 2004.
[3] Carlier, S., De Lépinay, I., Hustache, J. C., & Jelinek, F. "Environmental impact of air traffic flow management delays." 7th USA/Europe air traffic management research and development seminar (ATM2007), 2007, Vol. 2, p. 16.
[4] Kistan, T., Gardi, A., Sabatini, R., Ramasamy, S., & Batuwangala, E. “An evolutionary outlook of air traffic flow management techniques.” Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 2017, Vol. 88, pp.15-42.
[5] Delgado, L., Prats, X., & Sridhar, B. “Cruise speed reduction for ground delay programs: A case study for San Francisco International Airport arrivals.” Transportation Research Part C, 2013, Vol. 36, pp. 83-96.
[6] Delgado, L., & Prats, X. “Operating cost based cruise speed reduction for ground delay programs: Effect of scope length.” Transportation Research Part C, 2014, Vol. 48, pp. 437-452.
[7] Sesarju.eu. “SESAR Joint Undertaking | Extended Arrival Management (AMAN) horizon.” (2017). (online) Available at: https://www.sesarju.eu/sesar-solutions/advanced-air-traffic-services/extended-arrival-management-aman-horizon
[8] Jelinek, F., Carlier, S., & Smith. J. “The Advanced Emission Model (AEM3) -Validation Report.” 2004, (Online). Available: http://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/library/016a_AEM_Validation.pdf
[9] Jelinek, F., Carlier, S., Smith, J., & Quesne, A. “The EUR RVSM implementation Project-Environmental Benefit Analysis.” EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre, 2002, (Online). Available: http://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/library/023_RVSM_Implementation_Project.pdf
[10] Celikel, A., & Jelinek, F. “Forecasting Civil Aviation Fuel Burn and Emissions in Europe.” EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre, 2011. (Online). Available: http://publish.eurocontrol.int/eec/gallery/content/public/document/eec/report/2001/015_Forecasting_Fuel_Burn_and_Emissions_in_Europe.pdf
[11] Eurocontrol. “Comparison of Different Workload and Capacity Measurement Methods Used in CEATS Simulations, Comparison of SAAM 3; FTS 3, SSRTS3 and CEATS 2007 UAC Capacity.” EUROCONTROL CEATS Research, Development and Simulation Centre, Budapest, Hungary, 2007.
[12] Trandac, H., Baptiste, P., & Duong, V. “Optimized Sectorization of Airspace with Constraints.” Heudiasyc Laboratory, UMR CNRS 6599, University of Technology of Compiègne, Centre de Recherches de Royallieu, BP 20529, F-60205 Compiègne cedex, France; EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre, Centre de Bois des Bordes, BP15, F-91222 Bretigny sur Orge cedex, France, 2003.
[13] Vergne, F. “Model Simulation of Czech Republic Airspace, EEC Note No. 5/99, Project SIM-F-E1 (F24).” ATM Operational & Simulation Expertise, EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre, Bretigny-sur-Orge CEDEX, France, 1999.
[14] Federal Aviation Administration. “Variations in Airspeed in Controlled Airspace.” The Forty-Second Meeting of The Informal Pacific ATC Co-Ordinating Group (IPACG/42), Seattle, WA. 2016, (Online). Available: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/ato_intl/documents/IPACG/IPACG42/IPACG42_WP02_Speed_Variation.doc
[15] Aneeka, S., & Zhong, Z.W. “NOX and CO2 emissions from current air traffic in ASEAN region and benefits of free route airspace implementation.” Journal of Applied and Physical Sciences, 2016, Vol. 2(2), pp.32-36.
[16] Guo, R., & Zhong, Z.W. “Forecasting air passenger volume in Singapore: Determining the explanatory variables for econometric models.” MATTER: International Journal of Science and Technology, 2016, Vol. 3(1), pp.123-139.