Analysis of a Surface Congestion Management Technique at New York JFK Airport

Airport surface congestion can be a cause of significant increases in taxi times, fuel burn and emissions. Various surface congestion management techniques are being developed to help mitigate these issues at different airports, typically by holding aircraft at the gate or some other designated area during times of high congestion in order to reduce the number of aircraft on the active movement area. This paper describes the development and field testing of one such technique at New York John F. Kennedy airport. Impacts are quantified based on extensive analysis of operational data. Total annualized taxi-out time reductions of 14,800 hours were estimated at the airport, with annual fuel savings of 5.0 million US gallons ($10- 15 million at $2-3/US gallon) and 48,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions reduction.