Analytical Identification of Airport and Airspace Capacity Constraints

Identification of airport and airspace capacity constraints is complicated by the presence of Air Traffic Flow Management programs that protect congested airspace from becoming a safety problem. There are two ways to proceed: one may use a simulation to reproduce the operational environment without the ATFM, or one may analytically deduce the presence of the capacity constraint from the evaluation of performance metrics based on operational data. This paper describes a method by which the latter has been accomplished, using multi-dimensional user-oriented performance metrics to guide airspace redesign efforts in the eastern United States. Throughput, delay, predictability, and flexibility metrics contribute to the analysis. The analytical method is shown to have advantages in resources required and geographical scope. The broader scope can also be used to guide the choice of simulation parameters, when the greater precision of simulation is required in the later stages of an airspace or airport redesign.