Contrast and Comparison of Metroplex Operations An Air Traffic Management Study of Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami

*† ‡ § ** †† ‡‡ §§ *** A metroplex is a group of two or more airports within a metropolitan area whose arrival and departure operations are highly interdependent; thus the solution for the airspace structure around and the traffic flows to and from, constituent airports must be solved cooperatively as a system. Existing metroplexes in the National Airspace System have gone through different development paths and possess different characteristics, due in large part to differences in natural, social, environmental and political considerations. Consequently, strategic and tactic air traffic control measures tend to be specific to a given metroplex and therefore not easily abstracted. However, to develop concepts for metroplex operations to meet future traffic demand in the 2025 timeframe, it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the constraints on metroplex operations that limit system capacity, and to develop a model of metroplex operations. To this end, a study of the state-of-the-art in air traffic management of metroplex operations was conducted at four metroplexes, namely Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, each representing unique characteristics. The results from the survey of each site, covering airport configuration dependencies, airspace delegation, traffic flow interaction, weather, and environmental constraints, were compared to identify the most critical issues in today’s metroplex operations. Next Generation Air Transportation System concepts were analyzed against metroplex issues to identify their potential impact on metroplex operations. This study provides bases for developing novel NextGen metroplex design and operating concepts. The process and the results from the contrast and comparison of metroplex at the aforementioned four metroplex sites are documented in this paper.