Fuel cost, delay and throughput tradeoffs in runway scheduling

A dynamic programming algorithm for determining the minimum cost arrival schedule at an airport, given aircraft-dependent delay costs, is presented. Aircraft arrival schedules are subject to a variety of operational constraints, such as minimum separation requirements for safety, required arrival time-windows, limited deviation from a nominal or FCFS sequence, and precedence constraints on the arrival order. In addition to determining schedules that satisfy these constraints, the proposed approach makes it possible to evaluate tradeoffs in terminal-area schedules, through the comparison of throughput maximizing and delay minimizing schedules. A comprehensive analysis of the tradeoffs between average delay and fuel costs is also conducted, accounting for both the cost of delay and the increased rate of fuel burn incurred by an accelerating aircraft.