The Effects of User Competition in Air Traffic Management Initiatives

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Kim, A.

• The classic Air Traffic Flow Management literature has focused on the development of programs that typically aim to optimize total system-wide metrics in their resource allocation solutions. These system-optimal solutions are thought to be achievable because the airspace system is a highly controlled environment where aircraft ultimately cannot fly a given route without approval from the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP). We use a simple, classic traffic assignment principle to illustrate that if flight operators are asked to provide preference inputs that are used directly in a system-optimal resource allocation, a truly system-optimal solution may not be achievable. Because flight operators act in a way that is analogous to autonomous drivers attempting to minimize their individual expected travel costs, the actual solution may be closer to that of a user equilibrium. This finding has two major implications. Firstly, in ATFM programs such as CTOP where user preferences are considered, system-optimal solutions may be an unrealistic goal that cannot be attained. Secondly, resource allocation schemes that aim to provide greater equity by sacrificing efficiency may not be as inefficient as they first appear, when compared against schemes that aim to provide system-optimality.

• Date created

  2019-11-18

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP)
  • Competitive Behavior
  • Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM)
  • Strategic Planning
  • Wardrop’S Principles
  • En Route Resource Allocation

• Type of Item

  Conference/Workshop Presentation

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-tca0-gq40

• License

  Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International