Fuzzy inference approach to the flow management problem in Air Traffic Control

In the last few years congestion has appeared in some elements of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system (airports, airways, sectors, etc.). Congestion is caused by the reduced capacity of certain elements of the ATC system during some time periods. During congestion periods some flights are delayed. As a result, the carrier’s operating costs are increased and passengers’ level of service is decreased. In this paper a single airport congestion problem is considered for the landing operations in a multi-period framework and a model for minimization of the total cost caused by aircraft delay is developed. The developed model is based on the Fuzzy Inference Technique and is illustrated by a numerical example. Some future research in this field is proposed.