Analysis of Current Sectors Based on Traffic and Geometry

This paper describes an evaluation of current sectors in the continental United States using a variety of traffic and geometric metrics. Most of the metrics have been computed using real track-data. In instances where this was not possible, simulated traffic data are used. Statistics of these metrics are summarized for higher altitude sectors in the twenty air route traffic control centers and in eight geographical regions. The analysis shows that most sectors have fewer than twenty aircraft and three conflicts at any given time. Air traffic in higher altitude sectors consists of mostly jets that fly in a narrow range of airspeeds and altitudes. A wide variation was found in the volume, area, height, length and transit times of the sectors. Most sectors were found to be elongated and aligned in the direction of the traffic flows. The properties of today’s sectors reflect the technologies and procedures used for air traffic control. With the introduction of automation, the design of airspace partitions will not be contrained by how controllers manage traffic. However, if controllers are involved to some degree in the future system, it might be useful to account for some of the characteristics of the current sectors in the design of future airspace partitions. I