Study on the Optimization Method of Point Merge Procedure Based on Benefit in the Terminal Area

With the rapid development of the air transport industry, the problem of airspace congestion and flight delay in the terminal area (TMA) becomes more and more serious. In order to improve the efficiency of flight operations in TMA, point merge procedure had been devised. This paper takes the approach routes in TMA as the research object, taking into account such conditions as obstacle clearance, flight interval, and procedure area. Based on the flight time, fuel consumption, pollutant emission, and noise impact, an optimization model of point merge procedure is constructed. Genetic algorithm is used to optimize the structure of procedure. The Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is selected for simulation verification, and the actual flow distribution of the airport is analyzed as an example. The results show that the average flight time was reduced by 0.26 min, the average fuel consumption was reduced by 1,240.64 kg, the average NOx emissions were reduced by 1.09 kg, and the noise impact range was contracted by 55 km2 after optimization. The point merge procedure optimization method can be expected to reduce the flight time, fuel consumption, and environmental impact of flights in TMA, so as to optimize the aircraft approach trajectory.