Use of agent-based modelling in support to APOC decision-making processes and Total Airport Management, including passenger flow and turnaround

Project introduction

Client: EUROCONTROL
Duration: 36 months (January 2020 - December 2022)

A major to delay is the insufficient ground operation performance inducing excessive process durations. Whenever these processes are part of the critical turnaround path, the effects could immediately propagate an accumulating delay through the ATM network. This project mainly focuses on delay compensation and mitigation strategies, reliable operational process design considering different look ahead times (strategic, pre-tactical, tactical, operational level). Starting from the field observations and comprehensive data analyses of single events, a microscopic agent-based model for turnaround operations is developed and integrated into a complex airport scenario aiming on optimization of individual aircraft handling, efficient resource allocation, and coupled airport-airport views to enable long-range mitigation, optimization strategies.

The further development of TAM into an integrated, performance-based management is a necessary step. This project will contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interactions of the aircraft turnaround, as a multi-stakeholder focal point. The research hypotheses are:

Performance-based management of the aircraft ground trajectory, especially the turnaround processes, will significantly contribute to the airport and airline performance.
A detailed, agent-based and data-driven model of the turnaround has to consider operational milestones of airside and landside (passenger flow).
Appropriate modelling of passenger flows (aircraft-centric) will provide relevant milestones for the landside processes (passenger connectivity monitoring) and will improve the reliability of collaborative decisions in the APOC.