Integrated Arrival and Departure Management for Urban Air Mobility Vertiport Operations in the New York City Airspace

This paper introduces the Vertiport Human-Automation Teaming Toolbox (V-HATT), a novel framework developed for managing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in terminal airspace and vertiports. V-HATT is designed to integrate the efforts of human vertiport operator (VO) with an automation system for scheduling and real-time operational control, creating a cohesive system for UAM traffic management. Using the Helo Holdings, Inc. (HHI) Heliport as a case study, we demonstrate how the V-HATT framework effectively manages incoming and outgoing traffic in a busy urban airspace like New York City. The framework employs mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) algorithms to schedule optimal arrival and departure sequences, focusing on minimizing in-air and ground delays while accounting for throughput and aircraft-specific constraints. This integrated approach promises significant improvements in UAM efficiency, safety, and reliability, contributing to the sustainable expansion of urban air transportation systems.