Improving runway queue management: Modifying SDSS to accommodate deicing

The FAA is sponsoring research in NextGen Surface-Trajectory-Based Operations (STBO). Surface tactical flow is a component of STBO. Collaborative Departure Queue Management (CDQM), a decision support tool (DST) used to support surface tactical flow, is currently being demonstrated at two airports, neither of which experience frequent snow events. The CDQM DST is hosted on a prototype Surface Decision Support System (SDSS), which models surface traffic and predicts runway queues. To function during snow events, SDSS will need to account for different taxi routes and additional time that deicing requires. Simply put, SDSS will need to know where deicing takes place and how long it will take. To better understand deicing, an interview team, the authors of this paper, visited four northern airports. Prior to the visits the interview team enumerated a series of topics and questions for each topic. The team also identified entities (flight operators, Air Traffic Control (ATC), and the local airport authority) it wished to interview at each airport, as well as personnel in specific positions within each of these entities. Each airport visit spanned two days. From the visits, we learned where and how flight operators deice aircraft and how airport authorities manage runway closures during snow events. Two of the airports, Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), perform the majority of their deicing at centralized deicing pads in the movement area. At Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), most of the deicing occurs in the ramp area. At Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) all of the deicing occurs in the ramp area. As for modifying the SDSS to accommodate deicing, three options are available. One, insert deicing times into the SDSS “back-calculation” sequence, allowing extra time for deicing-time uncertainty. Two, attempt to model deicing times, providing SDSS with improved estimates. Three, begin the SDSS back calculation after deicing. Research in these areas will continue.