Enhanced Dynamic Airspace Configuration Algorithm

The global air traffic is experiencing steady growth, driven by increasing demand for air travel for both business and leisure purposes. According to Eurocontrol [1] [2], the number of flights in Europe is projected to increase by 2.5% per year up to 2030, reaching approximately 12 million flights. This substantial growth has put significant pressure on Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems, highlighting the need for new solutions to address emerging challenges. The rise in air traffic might lead to congestion in specific airspace causing flight delays and increased traffic complexity, which is directly linked to the Air Traffic Controller’s (ATCOs) workload [3]. The current airspace structure, based on Elementary Sectors that can be collapsed according to traffic situations is not the best optimized solution to accommodate high values of traffic, considering the potential occurrence of external factors such as weather event (e.g. Convective areas) or Military area reservations, including Dynamic Mobile Areas (DMA). The SESAR3 Industrial Research Project HARMONIC Solution 382 faces this challenge by fostering the validation of Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC) concept. ENAV, the Italian ANSP, will make use of LTLMT (Local Traffic Load Management Tool) developed by IDS Airnav to support the Flight Manager Position (FMP) in the identification of the best ACC (Area Control Centre) configuration to be applied in specific timeframe; such software will be powered by Machine Learning (ML) algorithm to estimate the workload with brand new sectors’ shapes and to identify the best configuration to be applied to avoid any unbalanced situation. DAC Algorithm, developed by University “La Sapienza” of Rome, is enhanced respect to the previous experience in SESAR context (PJ.09-W2 Solution 44) because it will consider not only the traffic (in terms of counts), but also additional constraints such as DMA and convective phenomena. In the context of HARMONIC Solution 382, a validation campaign through Real Time Simulation on Milan ACC operational environment will be run by ENAV in May 2025 to validate the enhanced DAC concept.