Bottleneck Analysis in JFK Using Discrete Event Simulation: An Airport Queuing Model

With the current growth of the number of airline passengers using JFK airport on everyday basis, massive delays occur throughout the system, which causes a significant bottleneck. This paper presents a discrete simulation model of the aircraft arrival and departure process at JFK airport. This paper's main objective is to identify where the bottleneck lies and provide recommendations to ease the congestion within the airport. The simulation model includes the calculations of taxi-in and taxi-out time distributions and the development of a conceptual queuing model of the runway system. The simulation model is trained using data from 2015 from the US Customs and Border Protection, the United States Department of Transportation, and the JFK airport. The results show that the bottleneck is caused by congestion during taxi-out, waiting for take-off. It is recommended that JFK utilizes optimization methods to minimize flight delays.