Work

Two-Stage Greener Four-Dimensional Trajectory Optimisation with Combined Holding Strategies

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The rapid growth of air transport demand poses challenges to the development of the global air traffic system, including increased delays and environmental pollution. To alleviate these problems, a two-stage greener 4D trajectory optimisation framework is proposed by integrating air traffic flow management (ATFM) with the trajectory-based operations (TBO). In the first stage, a multi-objective optimisation model is developed for network-wide delay management to minimise delay costs and CO2 emissions. The combination of ground holding, standard airborne holding and economic airborne holding is adopted to control the controlled time of arrival (CTA) at each critical node along the trajectory. In the second stage, the 4D trajectory optimisation method is conducted based on the CTA constraints of the negotiated solution from the first stage to generate specific “runway-to-runway” 4D trajectory for the individual flight. The method is tested on the Shanghai-Beijing-Guangzhou air traffic network. Results indicate that including the economic airborne holding provides a more flexible trade-off between delay costs and CO2 emissions, facilitating stakeholder negotiations. Specifically, a 1% increase in delay cost can lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions by approximately 0.51%. The proposed method presents a promising solution for achieving greener and more precise ATFM within the TBO paradigm.

Source: PROMET - Traffic&Transportation

DOI: 10.7307/ptt.v37i5.793

Authors: Lei YANG, Yi ZHOU, Zihong LI, Hua XIE

Institution: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Language: English

Topic: Air Traffic Management and Optimization

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $970