Time-Dependent Network Assignment Strategy for Taxiway Routing at Airports

A time-dependent network assignment strategy is proposed for efficiently handling aircraft taxiway operations at airports. The suggested strategy is based on the incremental assignment technique that is frequently adopted in many urban transportation studies. The method assumes that the current aircraft route is influenced by previous recent aircraft assignments in the network. This simplified assumption obviates the need for iterative rerouting procedures for attaining some pure equilibrium state, which in any case might not be achievable in practical airport taxiway operations. The main benefit of applying the time-dependent network assignment approach to taxiway operations is the reduction and avoidance of possible conflicts that produce delays. Also proposed is a prototype of a fully time-dependent network assignment scheme that dispatches aircraft based also on future anticipated assignment. The suggested methodology could be adopted in the deployment of automated taxiway guidance systems that are planned for future implementation at congested airports.