Simulation and Optimization of Ground Traffic on Airports using Cellular Automata

Due to increasing numbers of airplane operations on international airports in Germany, the efficiency of airport-ground operations becomes more and more important. Some airports, such as the international airport of Duesseldorf, have reached their capacity limit and need major improvements in order to handle the continuously growing number of airplanes and passengers. Further expansion of the airport is not possible because of limited space. To improve airport-ground operations, simulations are useful for evaluating suggestions in advance and for avoiding poor planning. Therefore the CAMAT-Model was developed (Cellular Automaton Model for Airport Traffic), seeking to simulate the dynamics of all airplanes as realistically as possible. Improvements on the current layout can be simulated as well as new taxiways and new taxiing routes. In this paper, we present the new CAMAT-Model and give examples of possible improvements at the airport of Duesseldorf and their influence on average rolling times of airplanes