Two Methods for Computing Directional Capacity Given Convective Weather Constraints

Abstract

†‡ § We study two methods of computing directional capacity for en route airspaces with convective weather constraints. We consider future operations where jetway routing is removed and aircraft paths may conform over time with the geometry of hazardous weather constraints. Within a constant flight level, we an alyze the dominant demand direction ‐ a direction for which the majority of the flow would like to pass through a given portion of airspace. Then, we study two methods of measuring the directional capacity of the airspace. The first method, a grid-based method, considers ei ght fundamental directions for directional capacity, according to the standard dir ections of travel: North, East, South, and West and diagonal directions. The second method considers an arbitrary direction of flow and determines the directional capacity in that par ticular flow direction. We compare the directional demand to the available capacity in tha t direction to determine if demand exceeds capacity in that particular direction. Fin ally, we describe how these directional capacity metrics can be used in air traffic management applications.