Alumni

Stakeholder preparation for future operation is currently carried out mostly individually, with limited and mostly untimely access to relevant information. Through identifying and mapping plan development for each involved actor, it is possible to find commonalities and moments of information exchange. Data that could be of relevance for others is often kept private, due to lack of insight in handling by others and lack of knowledge on collective benefits of information-sharing. Using feedback from the Airport’s Operation Centre (APOC) on their Airport Operations Plan (AOP), and from LVNL on their OPS plan, together with expert recommendations, poses improvements for desired information sharing within stakeholders. Optimizing the plan-establishment processes and collectively arranging operational preparation yields benefits for all involved stakeholders. To finally ensure proper execution, data-exchange and arrangements should be constantly monitored using chosen performance indicators.

Graduated: June 2021

In early 2020 LVNL implemented the OPS plan with the objective to improve the alignment of traffic demand with available capacity. This can be achieved by improving the predictability of the operations and make this transparent and accessible for the stake-holders. Every day the PRE-TACT unit develops an OPS plan for the following operational day. The plan contains two types of information, external factors that might impact the capacity, and recommendations for the most optimal operations. The recommendations are based on the external factors, for example the predicted traffic demand and weather forecast. These two factors contribute to the configuration of runways, and the runway selection determines the required capacity. In order to for LVNL to improve possible deficiencies of the OPS plan, the aim of this research study is to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the predicted traffic demand. The analysis focusses on the difference between predicted and actual traffic demand on a 20 minute resolution. In addition, the implications of factors contributing to the proposed runway configuration will be assessed since the use of different runways could have a significant impact on the capacity.

Graduated: June 2021

Air Traffic Flow Management is a measure to optimize the flow of traffic in the European air transportation system. Flights are planned such that these can be operated with as little delay as possible. However, on the day of operation many changes can still happen. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the biggest contributor to Airport ATFM Delay in Europe, meaning many flights are delayed because of congestion or other airport related reasons at Schiphol. Besides Airport ATFM Delay, the arrival punctuality of flights at Schiphol can be improved. More insights into the causes and interactions of operational parameters is necessary to understand the main contributors for Airport ATFM Delay and arrival delay. A Bayesian Network is proposed, which is a Probabilistic Graph Model that can find interactions between variables and can identify the operational conditions leading to Airport ATFM Delay and arrival delay.

Graduated: June 2021

Due to the continued growth of the aviation industry, emission and noise production are at an all-time high. In order to reduce this, conventional approaches could be replaced by continuous descent approaches (CDA). These eliminate all level segments, greatly reducing the average thrust setting, resulting in large reductions in noise and emission production. The problem with almost all CDA procedures is that it makes it much more difficult to predict the future position of an aircraft since it flies its own optimal descent profile, with zero thrust. This results in a need for more separation, greatly reducing the airport capacity. This can largely be solved by using a fixed, constant descent angle for all aircraft. Assessing the robustness of such a concept for a high capacity airport is therefore an important stepping stone towards actual implementation.

Graduated: May 2021

Lightning strikes to aircraft are not uncommon in aviation. Although they are not dangerous anymore, they can still result in damages to the aircraft and delay airline operations. Passengers can get scared from the lightning strike as well. Especially in the region around Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, AIL can occur during fall and winter as well. Estimations are that 90% of the lightning strikes are a result of the aircraft triggering a lightning strike, rather than being accidentally struck. In order to prevent as many strikes as possible, it is thus key to understand this process. Therefore, this research aimed to gain a as complete as possible understanding of the process of AIL and use this knowledge to supply new information about AIL to pilots, as AIL is not included in most standard pilot trainings. This can allow pilots to become more aware of AIL and prevent more lightning strikes and the corresponding inconveniences from occuring.

Finished internship: January 2021

One of the current factors limiting the growth of the aviation industry in the Netherlands is the relationship between the aviation sector and local communities around airports. Aircraft noise production is one of the main causes of nuisance in residential areas reported by RIVM. It is therefore, for the aviation industry as a whole, of great importance to gain a better understanding of the methodology of aircraft noise modelling and make improvements on this modelling process if deficiencies in the current model are detected. The validation of the aircraft noise model, using noise measurements taken around the airport, is crucial for the scientific foundation of the model. This scientific foundation is expected to increase the transparency in how noise calculations are performed, which increases community trust in the aviation industry as a whole.

Graduated: July 2020