Merging of Air Tra-c Flows ⁄

We consider the problem of merging two or more ∞ows of aircraft (A/C) in a horizontal plane. The A/C aim to reach a target ∞ow with the minimal amount of turning, while maintaining a given separation between them. No a priori sequencing nor scheduling of the merging aircraft is assumed. The individual trajectories for each A/C are computed using optimization. Once these are determined, maneuvers away from these preferred paths are computed for each A/C to ensure both efiective merging into the ∞ow as well as su‐cient separation. This generates the sequencing of the merging aircraft. Simulations of several merging scenarios illustrate the results. The proposed algorithm can be used for automatic en-route and terminal area merging tasks within future, more automated air-tra‐c control systems.