Do air traffic flow problems interact? A preliminary analysis

In air traffic control, the traffic flow management (TFM) function seeks to optimize the flow of air traffic. A flow is a movement of air traffic, considered as a rate or a cluster, not as individual aircraft. The National Airspace System (NAS) is a complex, interdependent network of airports, airspace, and aircraft. It is observed that a TFM congestion problem at one place in the NAS has air traffic flow effects elsewhere in the system. It is also observed that TFM congestion problems do not necessarily occur singularly, they are frequently coincident. This work investigates whether multiple, coincident TFM problems interact, i.e., whether unanticipated combination effects arise when multiple problems occur simultaneously. The National Airspace System Performance Analysis Capability (NASPAC) simulation model is used.>