Advanced Capacity and Demand Management for European Network Performance Optimization (CADENZA)

Within the CADENZA project, we develop and test a comprehensive approach that combines innovative capacity as well as demand management concepts for European ATM. We cover all areas of capacity provision, all temporal levels, and also analyse different options for cross-border capacity provision. Based on previous research we expect significant improvements in cost-efficiency and positive impacts on other areas, especially reductions in delays and CO₂ emissions.

This presentation consists of two major parts. First, we present different conceptual options for a better coordination of capacity provision, comparing different levels of centralized vs. decentralized decision making. In one of the options, the Network Manager (NM) acts as a (trajectory) broker between airspace users (AUs) and capacity providers to match demand and capacities in the network.

Second, we introduce so-called flexible “trajectory products” (TPs) as one major element of demand management. We assume that airspace capacity budgets are given and we offer AUs several TPs for flights that might have an impact on network performance. The TPs differ in the amount of flexibility that they provide to the NM when making decisions on trajectories shortly before departure. Greater flexibility of AUs is rewarded with lower (possibly dynamic) charges, so AUs have a choice. On departure day, the NM decides simultaneously on the routing and on the sector opening scheme in order to minimize total displacement costs (i.e. cost of delays and re-routings).

In both parts of the presentation we show results of small scale case studies and provide an outlook into larger case studies that we will conduct in the future.