Flight execution and route adaptation considering multiple constraints

Safety and efficiency are key factors for air traffic management. Both are strongly dependent on the environment and may be impacted by any disruptions caused by adverse weather or other airspace constraints. The main focus of this study is on weather hazards and aims to reveal characteristic consequences of a multiple hazard consideration in aircraft routing and flight execution. Simulations are based on a set of great-circle routes that are impacted by atmospheric hazards, such as deep convection and severe turbulence, of two significantly different weather situations-an early winter frontal system situation of 18 November 2015 vs. air mass convection of 14 July 2016. Three different simulation modes (ignorance, perfect forecast, and nudging) are applied to study the routing effect imposed by the decision horizon (route forecast vs. tactical nudging to the developing situation). Various weather avoidance scenarios, the impact of winds as well as a first guess on possible consequences for air traffic controllers are discussed.