Title: Studying the Operational Consequences of Automated Engine-Off Taxiing using Multi-Agent Planning

Abstract: Airports worldwide face a dual challenge towards 2050: meeting the predicted annual demand of 10 billion passengers, while striving for net-zero emissions throughout their operations. For airport surface movement operations, engine-off taxiing methods have the potential to cut the associated aircraft emissions. One promising technique is to use specialized tugs to tow aircraft to or from locations close to the runways. However, the implementation of tug-enabled taxiing (TET) introduces operational complexities, necessitating advanced planning, guidance, and control. Building upon prior research, we extend our existing multi-agent system model for automated taxiing operations to explore the operational implications posed by TET of all outbound flights with respect to the historic as well as automated multi-engine taxiing operations studied previously. We analyze the impact on taxi times, runway capacity, delay patterns, emission hotspots, and potential for fuel savings by simulating the real-world flight schedules of two of the busiest days at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to date. In light of the considered simulation conditions, we show that TET greatly reduces the emissions in the bay areas, and decreases fuel consumption by up to 69%, resulting in estimated yearly fuel cost savings of 13.8 MC at Schiphol. TET operations thus offer not only environmental and economic benefits, but have the potential to lower health-related risks for ground personnel as well.

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