Franklin Djeumou Fomeni, PhD

Optimization of the 4D-trajectories of flights

During my sojourn at Lancaster University as a Research Associate, I worked on a project (OptiFrame) funded by the European commission. The overall aim of the project was to develop an optimization framework for assigning 4D-trajectories to flights under the Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) concept, which is the future concept of operations of the European aviation. Indeed, the European aviation has seen a significant growth in the number flights and passengers in recent years, which will continue for the next decades. Such a dramatic growth brings up many challenges that need to be tackled to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of aviation in Europe. TBO has therefore been identified as one of the cornerstones of the future Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. The main objective of the OptiFrame project was the application of principles of mathematical modelling and optimization that will contribute to verify the viability of the TBO concept and can provide the basis for its implementation.

My role in this project mainly involved developing optimization models and solution algorithms that assigns 4D-trajectories to flights based on the preferences and priorities of the ATM stakeholders. We developed a multi-objective integer programming model, which takes into account the constraints of the air traffic system, the flight requirements and the preferred flight trajectories for each flight, and minimizes various key performance indicators of the efficiency of the ATM system such as delay, punctuality and the cost effectiveness of the flights. The innovative aspects of this model are that,

1. it considers the full 4D-trajectories of aircraft,

2. incorporates the preferences and priorities of the ATM stakeholders,

3. the solution algorithm for the multi-objective formulation allows to identify the existing trade-off between the needs and objectives of the ATM stakeholders.

Click here for more details about this project.