Performance measurement of air terminal operations

Abstract

The product of the research is a descriptive numerical index which quantifies the performance of an airport system, comprised of air traffic control and physical configuration, in dealing with a given demand. As a result of the analysis, the index is composed of three parts, namely dispatch, safety, and equity. Measures of these criteria are average delay for all aircraft, risk of fatality per passenger-hour of exposure to terminal flight, and a compensation to the delay figure based on the delay distribution among aircraft, respectively. The value of this composite index is a function of statistics from the real world or from a predictive model, and it may be used over any time scale. Methods of actual data measurement are discussed and a numerical example presented. The advantage of such an index as compared with conventional capacity analysis is that the index is useful for any demand, not just peak demand. The superiority over simple delay statistics is that a more revealing indication of operational trade-offs and weaknesses is possible. Further, the definition of delay has been expanded beyond the confines of the local air traffic control area, including all delays related to the air terminal operation.