No wait Flow Shop Scheduling Models for TMA Traffic Management

We propose flow shop scheduling models for scheduling landings and take-offs in the terminal area (TMA), in which some additional constraints on the inbound and outbound flows within the TMA are considered. In particular, the fixes and the significant way points of the TMA are explicitly represented and separation constraints on these points are included. Two performance criteria are considered: the minimization of the maximum arriving (departing) time, and the minimization of the average delay of aircraft. On the basis of these models, we propose fast heuristic algorithms that can be used in real time. Simulation experiments in a typical TMA scenario, in which the proposed algorithms are compared with the FCFS discipline, are discussed.