The thesis is that automation of en-route Air Traffic Management in high complexity airspace can be achieved with a combination of automated tactic planning in a look-ahead time horizon of up to two hours complemented with automated tactic conflict resolution functions. The literature review reveals that no significant results have yet been obtained and that full automation could be approached with a complementary integration of automated tactic resolutions AND planning. The focus shifts to ‘planning for capacity’ and ‘planning for resolution’ and also – but not only – for ‘resolution’.
The work encompasses a theoretical part on planning, and several small scale studies of empirical, mathematical or simulated nature.
The theoretical part of the thesis on planning under uncertainties attempts to conceive a theoretical model which abstracts specificities of planning in Air Traffic Management into a generic planning model. The resulting abstract model treats entities like the planner, the strategy, the plan and the actions, always considering the impact of uncertainties. The work innovates in specifying many links from the theory to the application in planning of air traffic management, and especially the new fields of tactical capacity management.
The second main part of the thesis comprises smaller self-containing works on different aspects of the concept grouped into a section on complexity, another on tactic planning actions, and the last on planners. The produced studies are about empirical measures of conflicts and conflict densities to get a better understanding of the complexity of air traffic; studies on traffic organisation using tactical manoeuvres like speed control, lateral offset and tactical direct using fast time simulation; and studies on airspace design like sector optimisation, dynamic sectorisation and its optimisation using optimisation techniques.
In conclusion it is believed that this work will contribute to further automation attempts especially by its innovative focus which is on planning, base on a theory of planning, and its findings already influence newer developments
