Project Title: Air Traffic Flow Management and the Optimization of Airport Capacity
BASIS Advisor: Joshua Winter
Internship Location: National Air Traffic Services (NATS)
Onsite Mentor: Samantha Gibbs
Air Traffic Control had its 100th birthday this year. In the past century, aviation and air traffic control has changed a lot. In the next hundred years, aviation is likely to expand even further with more types of aircraft, and eventually with autonomous flight. Air travel is growing quickly, and congestion at the world’s busiest airports is soaring. In the midst of all this growth, Ultra-Long-Haul flights are becoming feasible with the development of extremely efficient long-haul aircraft. The purpose of this study is to explore Long-Range Air Traffic Flow Management. In the process, I will create a hypothetical Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) System that will aim at improving effectiveness, equitability, and environmental sustainability. This hypothetical system will aim to incorporate both short-haul and long-haul flights, assigning delays equitably across all flights. Current systems don’t effectively incorporate both long and short haul operations, and not a lot of research has been done on ultra-long haul ATFM. I will be spending time at a National Air Traffic Services (NATS) air traffic control facility in the United Kingdom. In the process, I also hope to further my knowledge of the aviation industry in preparation for a career as an airline pilot.
My Posts
Week Seven: Differences in Approaches
May 25, 2020
Hello everyone! In this post, I’ll be focusing on how Norwegian airlines’ approach to the pandemic differs from the three legacy US carriers. Norwegian’s approach is similar to that of many low-cost European carriers. The first airline we’ll be focusing on is Norwegian airlines. Norwegian has had a very interesting and troubled history. Most of […]
Week Six: Health in the air and Pilot Careers in the era of COVID-19
May 22, 2020
Hello Everyone, I’d like to start out this week by saying that my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families from Pakistan International Airlines flight 8303, which crashed early this morning. Plane crashes are a terrible tragedy, and the entire industry is now focused on finding the cause of this tragedy […]
Week Five: Data!
May 13, 2020
Greetings to everyone from the same couch I’ve been sitting on every day for the past two months. This week, I’ve gathered some statistics as well as some helpful graphs and visuals to explain exactly where the industry stands in this pandemic. The International Civil Aviation Organization has released a report that says there will […]
Week Four: A Slow Return
May 12, 2020
Hello everyone! As always, I hope you’re staying happy and healthy during these difficult times. For the first time in over a month, I finally have some good news to share. Demand is starting to slowly increase for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic for US flights. The most reliable and current […]
Week Three: the CARES Act and an Update on the Current State of the Aviation Industry
Apr 26, 2020
In this blog post, I’ll provide an update on the industry, as well as why airlines are flying empty aircraft in the US. Over the past couple of weeks, the airline industry has stabilized somewhat. While increasing numbers of airlines are filing for bankruptcy, insolvency, or entering voluntary administration, the number of flights operating around […]
Week two: Factors in the Recovery of the Airline Industry after COVID-19
Apr 10, 2020
Greetings, Readers! As always, I hope everyone is staying happy and healthy in these difficult times. I wish I had good news to tell you about the recovery of the aviation industry, but for now, the news is dim. This week, I focused on how prepared the aviation industry will be to return after the […]
Week One: The Logistics of Long-Term Aircraft Storage in the era of COVID-19
Apr 07, 2020
Hey everyone! I hope you’re staying happy and healthy in these troubling times. The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced some interesting and unfortunate elements into the aviation industry in the past few weeks. My goal thus far has been to learn about, and share with you, some of the factors that go into the responses to […]
An Introduction to my Research in Air Traffic Flow Management
Mar 13, 2020
Hello! My name is James Gelman and I’m an aviation enthusiast and aspiring airline pilot. The aviation industry is an incredibly complex system that has ramifications in politics, culture, science, and economies around the world. Air Traffic Control is a key factor in the safety and success of the industry. But in an era of […]