En route sector capacity model

This paper presents a model for calculating the capacity of an en route sector of an air traffic control system from the geometric point of view. The model is based on the concept of expected capacity under saturation conditions, i.e., in the presence of continuous demand for service. The model could be used for planning purposes such as sector capacity calculations and capacity sensitivity analysis for different traffic scenarios. A sensitivity analysis can be performed varying such parameters as: sector geometry (number of entry points and air routes’ configuration), characteristics of the sector’s expected traffic (arriving traffic distribution between entry points and flight levels for each of those points, the characteristics of requests for level changes while in the sector, aircraft mix at the entry points) and air traffic control separation rules.