I am currently working as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Air Transportation Systems Lab (ATSL). My research projects are sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through the NEXTOR III program covering a spectrum of topics in aviation operations research. The most recent completed study:

• Modeling arrival travel times within the terminal airspace

In this study, we model the relationship between travel time within the terminal airspace and contributing factors using a multivariate Log-Linear model to quantify the impact that these factors have on the total travel time within the last 100 nautical miles. We compare our results to the baseline set of variables that are currently used for benchmarking purposes at the FAA. Impacting factors include wind, meteorological conditions, demand and capacity, Ground Delay Programs (GDPs), market distance, time of day, and day of week.

Why is this important?

Terminal airspace is typically defined by

the area within a 100 NM circle around the arrival airport. In this area, Air Traffic Control (ATC) implements tactical procedures to manage arrival flows such as Sequencing, Vectoring, Spacing, etc. As a result, inefficiencies in the travel trajectory could take place due to weather conditions, capacity/demand imbalances, or ATC inefficiency. Being able to quantify the contribution of impacting factors can help predict airspace efficiency more accurately, this is beneficial for stakeholders including air traffic managers and airlines. Finally, higher efficiency could help airlines save fuel and reduce emissions.

Data sources used

– Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM)

–The Operations Network (OPSNET)

–Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR)

–Rapid Refresh (RAP) numerical weather model

–The Base of Aircraft Data (BADA)

Other on-going research:

• Airport Surface event extraction form ASDE-X radar data
• Analysis of deicing operations at US airports