The right choice between possible types of passenger terminal buildings is the key to a successful airport design project. Historically, in the earlier days of aviation the designer's concern was directed to aircraft and to the adequacy of the ground facilities which each airport provided. As the aviation grew, airport passenger buildings grew more complex and more expensive, to the point of being viewed as a key to the airport's economic performance. In this context, the process of selecting a terminal concept became fundamental for planning and designing airport terminal buildings. However, almost no methodology is available at the initial planning level for the selection of terminal concepts, and very little research has been done in this area.

The thesis uses a comprehensive case study of the UK airport planning process to generate hypotheses to be tested. The hypotheses are that the use of more formal planning disciplines to the expansion of the London area airports would have allowed a more appropriate solution than those apparently preferred by the government; further, that this change in the planning process would only be beneficial if accompanied by changes in the framework for airport planning. It is seen to be necessary that the ground rules are known and that the interactions between all affected groups and the decision processes are transparent if the final result is to bear a strong resemblance to the project as planned. A possible solution is developed in the case study by using elements of this alternative methodology, resulting in a proposal for an extra short runway at Heathrow.

With the expected continued increases in air transportation, the mitigation of the consequent delays and environmental effects is becoming more and more important, requiring increasingly sophisticated approaches for airside airport operations. The ground movement problem forms the link between other airside problems at an airport, such as arrival sequencing, departure sequencing, gate/stand allocation and stand holding. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to airport ground movement research through obtaining a better understanding of the problem and producing new models and algorithms for three sub-problems. Firstly, many stakeholders at an airport can benefit from more accurate taxi time predictions. This thesis focuses upon this aim by analysing the important factors affecting taxi times for arrivals and departures and by comparing different regression models to analyse which one performs the best for this particular task. It was found that incorporating the information of the airport layout could significantly improve the accuracy and that a TSK fuzzy rule-based system outperformed other approaches. Secondly, a fast and flexible decision support system is introduced which can help ground controllers in an airport tower to make better routing and scheduling decisions and can also absorb as much of the waiting time as possible for departures at the gate/stand, to reduce the fuel burn and environmental impact. The results show potential maximum savings in total taxi time of about 30.3%, compared to the actual performance at the airport. Thirdly, a new research direction is explored which analyses the trade-off between taxi time and fuel consumption during taxiing. A sophisticated new model is presented to make such an analysis possible. Furthermore, this research provides the basis for integrating the ground movement problem with other airport operations. Datasets from Zurich Airport, Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, London Heathrow Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were utilised to test these sub-problems.

With airports becoming busier and often struggling with insufficient capacity, the efficiency of the airports resource utilisation becomes more and more important all over the world. The efficiency may be improved by integration of the airport operations which historically were handled in separation. More effective resource utilisation would not only smooth the airport operation but also should have a positive environmental impact. The gate allocation problem is one of the important airport operations, which is often solved without considering the links with other airport operations. Modelling and analysis of new constraints which allow the ground movement information to be taken into consideration in the allocation planning in advance as well as design of appropriate solution methods are discussed. It is observed that when the additional information from the ground movement is incorporated in the allocation planning process the number of expected routing conflicts, both around gates and on taxiways, drops. This should results in a smoother airport operation during the day of operation. Data from Manchester Airport is used in this thesis to build the model, as well as to test and to validate the solution methods.

A methodology is proposed for evaluating the level of service within an airport landside system from the passenger's point of view using linguistic service criteria. The new concept of level of service for a transport system, particularly within the airports indicates that there must be strong stimulation in order to proceed with the current stereotyped service standards which are being criticised due to their being based on, either physical capacity/volume or temporal/spatial standards that directly incorporates the perception of passengers, the dominant users. Most service evaluation methodologies have been concentrated on the factors of the time spent and the space provided. These quantitative factors are reasonably simple to measure but represent a narrow approach. Qualitative service level attributes are definitely important factors when evaluating the level of service from a user's point of view. This study has adopted three main evaluation factors: temporal or spatial factors as quantitative measurements and comfort factors and reasonable service factors as qualitative measurements. The service level evaluation involves the passenger's subjective judgement as a perception for service provision. To evaluate the level of service in the airport landside system from the user's perception, this research proposes to apply a multi-decision model using fuzzy set theory, in particular fuzzy approximate reasoning. Fuzzy set theory provides a strict mathematical framework for vague conceptual phenomena and a modelling language for real situations. The multi-decision model was applied to a case study at Kimpo International Airport in Seoul, Korea. Results are presented in terms of passenger satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a variety of different values.

The anticipated growth of air traffic worldwide requires enhanced Air Traffic Management (ATM) technologies and procedures to increase the system capacity, efficiency, and resilience, while reducing environmental impact and maintaining operational safety. To deal with these challenges, new automation and information exchange capabilities are being developed through different modernisation initiatives toward a new global operational concept called Trajectory Based Operations (TBO), in which aircraft trajectory information becomes the cornerstone of advanced ATM applications. This transformation will lead to higher levels of system complexity requiring enhanced Decision Support Tools (DST) to aid humans in the decision making processes. These will rely on accurate predicted aircraft trajectories, provided by advanced Trajectory Predictors (TP). The trajectory prediction process is subject to stochastic effects that introduce uncertainty into the predictions. Regardless of the assumptions that define the aircraft motion model underpinning the TP, deviations between predicted and actual trajectories are unavoidable. This thesis proposes an innovative method to characterise the uncertainty associated with a trajectory prediction based on the mathematical theory of Polynomial Chaos Expansions (PCE). Assuming univariate PCEs of the trajectory prediction inputs, the method describes how to generate multivariate PCEs of the prediction outputs that quantify their associated uncertainty. Arbitrary PCE (aPCE) was chosen because it allows a higher degree of flexibility to model input uncertainty. The obtained polynomial description can be used in subsequent prediction sensitivity analyses thanks to the relationship between polynomial coefficients and Sobol indices. The Sobol indices enable ranking the input parameters according to their influence on trajectory prediction uncertainty. The applicability of the aPCE-based uncertainty quantification detailed herein is analysed through a study case. This study case represents a typical aircraft trajectory prediction problem in ATM, in which uncertain parameters regarding aircraft performance, aircraft intent description, weather forecast, and initial conditions are considered simultaneously. Numerical results are compared to those obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation, demonstrating the advantages of the proposed method. The thesis includes two examples of DSTs (Demand and Capacity Balancing tool, and Arrival Manager) to illustrate the potential benefits of exploiting the proposed uncertainty quantification method.

This thesis investigates the application of the concepts of fairness and equity in Air Traffic Management (ATM), specifically focusing on trajectory-based operations. One of the main objectives of these new type of operations, which are at the core of the two major ongoing ATM modernisation initiatives (SESAR in Europe and NextGen in the United States), is to enable Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to better accommodate the trajectories preferred by the different airspace users. In this context, it is pivotal to ensure that all airspace users are dealt with impartially by the ANSP responsible for monitoring, adjusting and clearing their trajectories. Thus, fairness and equity considerations need to be integrated in the definition and implementation of trajectory-based operations. In view of the lack of a rigorous approach to the integration of the concepts of fairness and equity in trajectory-based operations, this thesis proposes fairness and equity metrics to assess the impact of the decisions of ANSPs on the distribution of cost penalties among different users. In this context, a cost penalty is defined as the increment in operational cost for the user that results from being cleared to fly a trajectory that is different from its preferred one. In addition, this thesis proposes methods to incorporate the aforementioned metrics to the decision-making process of ANSPs in the context of trajectory-base operations, so that the trajectories assigned to the users may be fair to all of them. In a first step, this dissertation derives specifically for ATM the concepts of justice, fairness and equity from traditional disciplines such as Philosophy, Economics or Sociology. These theoretical notions are the foundations for developing the mathematical expressions to obtain quantitative values of fairness and equity in the context of future trajectory-based operations. These fairness and equity metrics are initially defined considering that each flight is an independent airspace user and later generalised to the possibility of airspace users simultaneously operating several flights in the same operational context, e.g. a scenario including several airlines where each one is operating several flights. Secondly, the practical application and incorporation of the developed metrics into the existing ATM systems is explored. Two different methodologies to apply the proposed fairness and equity metrics in practice are presented, each one addressing a specific example where using such metrics could benefit future trajectory-based operations. Specifically, the proposed methodologies deal with how to incorporate fairness and equity considerations in the design and evaluation of so-called trajectory management algorithms, which will be used by future ATM systems to adjust the airspace users’ preferred trajectories so that they remain conflict-free within a given time frame, e.g. during the arrival phase. The usability of the metrics according to the proposed methodologies is illustrated by means of specific and ATM-relevant examples. On the one hand, the integration of the fairness metric into a trajectory conflict resolution algorithm is presented with a view to enlarge the optimisation criteria of trajectory modifications, i.e. inclusion of fairness considerations during trajectory adjustments. On the other, a comparative assessment is described with regard to fairness and equity of three different conflict resolution algorithms for a given environment, i.e. operational context, route network and traffic situation. To complement the above, a preliminary robustness analysis of the proposed fairness and equity metrics has been conducted. This analysis is an important part of this work, addressing explicitly the need of particular characteristics in the ATM environment for successfully making use of fairness and equity metrics, identifying situations that can affect the effective application of metrics and establishing the provisions to guarantee it. This study is based on concepts from the field of Decision Theory where the ATM system is modelled to reflect the de-confliction of trajectories based on user preferences in a two-player game with a fairness-oriented ANSP. In summary, this thesis proposes a new framework to incorporate fairness and equity in future air traffic operations based on quantitative metrics. The framework includes methodologies to apply these metrics in practice with a view to enabling the fair or equitable distribution of cost penalties among users in trajectory-based operations.

Air Traffic Management (ATM) is at an exciting frontier. The volume of air traffic is reaching the safe limits of current infrastructure. Yet, demand for more air traffic continues. To meet capacity demands, ATM data networks are increasing in complexity with: greater infrastructure integration, higher availability and precision of services; and the introduction of unmanned systems. Official recommendations into previous disruptive outages have high-lighted the need for operators to have richer monitoring capabilities and operational systems visibility, on-demand, in response to challenges. The work presented in this thesis, helps ATM operators better understand and increase visibility into the behaviour of their services and infrastructure, with the primary aim to inform decision-making to reduce service disruption. This is achieved by combining a container-based NFV framework with Software- Defined Networking (SDN). The application of SDN+NFV in this work allows lightweight, chain-able monitoring and anomaly detection functions to be deployed on-demand, and the appropriate (sub)set of network traffic routed through these virtual network functions to provide timely, context-specific information. This container-based function deployment architecture, allows for punctual in-network processing through the instantiation of custom functionality, at appropriate locations. When accidents do occur, such as the crash of a UAV, the lessons learnt should be integrated into future systems. For one such incident, the accident investigation identified a telemetry precursor an hour prior. The function deployment architecture allows operators to extend and adapt their network infrastructure, to incorporate the latest monitoring recommendations. Furthermore, this work has examined relationships in application-level information and network layer data representing individual examples of a wide range of generalisable cases including: between the cyber and physical components of surveillance data, the rate of change in telemetry to determine abnormal aircraft surface movements, and the emerging behaviour of network flooding. Each of these examples provide valuable context-specific benefits to operators and a generalised basis from which further tools can be developed to enhance their understanding of their networks.

This thesis proposes that a baggage handling system (BHS) environment can be defined and coupled to a whole life cycle cost (WLCC NPV) model. The results from specific experiments using the model can be used as the basis by which to commercially compare BHS flight build types of any capacity, and BHS geographical location. The model examined the three flight build types(i): Fully automatic build2; (ii) Semi-automatic build, and(iii); Manual build. The model has the ability to calculate a bag flow busy hour rate, and to replicate the baggage flow characteristics observed within real BHS operations. Whole life cycle costs (WLCC NPV) results are produced, and these form the basis by which the comparison of BHS types is made. An overall WLCC NPV scatter diagram was produced, which is a summation of each of the test sensitivities. The assumptions and limitations of the analysis are provided. It is proposed that the results, conclusions and recommendations shall be of value to airports, airlines, and design consultants.

This research seeks to connect the philosophical focus of the agency-structure debate with the practice of management through a comparative study of organisational decision-making in situations involving stakeholder consultation. Set in the context of decision-making following an airport master plan consultation, the study considers how the stakeholder framework can be integrated within institutional theory using institutional logics as a theoretical link between these two literatures. This thesis, which adopts a critical realist perspective, takes a comparative case approach of four airports, each owned in different ways. Interviews with airport managers are supplemented by discussions with stakeholders and industry experts. Two sets of a priori themes were identified from the literature. The first focuses on the institutional logics prevailing in the field and their influence on managers as they make decisions. The second considers four decision-making strategies managers might employ in this situation. Findings centre on the causal powers acting upon airport managers as they make their decisions. Whilst normative isomorphic pressure enables stakeholder consultation, the coercive pressure on the decision-making process deriving from English planning law, the adversarial and oscillating nature of Central Government policy, and a mimetic response to the nature of local authority development plans constrain the actions of airport managers. Indeed, the current bureaucratic form of capitalism limits stakeholder contribution to final master plans. This research makes four main contributions: Firstly, reflecting upon the agency-structure debate from a critical realist perspective has facilitated development of a model integrating the stakeholder framework within institutional theory. Secondly, it improves our understanding of how stakeholder contribution is managed in master planning. Thirdly, the study adds to the growing body of work that employs a critical realist perspective. Lastly, since reconciling conflicting stakeholder opinions may well be of vital importance to the future of the UK’s airport infrastructure, this work has practical significance for airport managers, government policy-makers and stakeholders as they strive to formulate worthwhile airport consultations.