Aircraft Proximity Maps Based on Data-Driven Flow Modeling

In particular, decision-support tools for traffic flow management should aid in limiting controller workload and complexity, while supporting increases in air traffic throughput. While many decision-support tools exist for short-term traffic planning, few have addressed the strategic needs for medium- and long-term planning for time horizons greater than 30 minutes.

This paper seeks to address this gap through the introduction of 3D aircraft proximity maps that evaluate the future probability of presence of at least one or two aircraft at any given point of the airspace. Three types of proximity maps are presented: presence maps that indicate the local density of traffic; conflict maps that determine locations and probabilities of potential conflicts; and outliers maps that evaluate the probability of conflict due to aircraft not belonging to dominant traffic patterns.