Airport apron and taxiway control system

Abstract

Air traffic management is a demanding field in the aviation industry which is facing increasing concern over various safety issues present. An area which is now being given particular interest is the safety in ground operations at airports which constitute for over half the accidents occurring yearly. In this report we delve into the current situation of Air Traffic Control (ATC), a team of operators responsible for coordinating air traffic and ensuring the safety of passengers and air crew during all phases of flight. A review of the current technology and tools used that contribute to safer decision making on ground operations is carried out, as well as extensive field research as a result of the issues identifies in the aerodrome sector of ATC. As a result of the knowledge learned a design for a DSS is formed. Briefly, the system will employ functions to allow a user to monitor, control, detect and resolve aircraft operations. The system developed makes use of graph-based algorithms as well as aircraft intent information and places importance on human system interaction features to convey valuable and at times crucial information in a user friendly manner to the controller. The result of this design is tested on a developed simulator and evaluated through technical and expert analysis. The feedback after testing suggests that aircraft intent data is valuable in planning and detection however insufficient for accurate monitoring or handle the resolution of conflicts that occur during simulation.