Combining system dynamics and agent-based simulation to evaluate and visualise sustainable airport operations.
Authors: Rudolph Florian , Jung Martin , B. Classen Axel 
Published: August 2024

Facing the backdrop of the climate crisis, we are currently witnessing an intense transformation process in aviation. Aim of this process is a climate-friendly air transport system. In addition to aircraft manufacturers and airlines, airports also must contribute to this transition by improving their operations. A key objective of airport management is therefore to foster climate-neutral aviation and energy-efficient airport operations. European airports are committed to achieving these goals by 2050. An important contribution to achieving these objectives is to enable airport operators to draw informed operational decisions while balancing traffic impacts with economic and environmental aspects. Therefore, we regard an airport as a holistic system with various operational areas and stakeholders in which an overarching and coordinated management allows for targeted prioritisation, e.g. of sustainability parameters. This paper, therefore, presents a concept for combining different simulation techniques resulting in a comprehensive, integrated hybrid simulation model and visualization tool. For this purpose, we combine two simulation techniques, namely an agent-based network simulation that maps the Advanced Collaborative Decision-Making Concept (A-CDM) for joint decision-making at airports via state charts as discrete events with a flow simulation based on system dynamics. The flow simulation is intended to map energy consumption in relation to capacity utilisation in different functional areas. Combining the strengths of these two simulation types enables us to evaluate and analyse ecological and (macro-) economic effects as well as operational impacts on airports simultaneously. One of the main challenges lies in the connection and interaction between discrete events and dynamic system flows and therefore in the combination of micro- and macro-simulation. We describe how to solve this technical and logical challenge of integration and – with a first prototype – we show our ideas on how to visualize the results of this hybrid simulation for airport operators to provide substantial and situational decision support. Commonly used airport Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which describe the operational performance of an airport, are set in relation to ecologic and economic KPIs in order to obtain a complete picture and thus enable holistic airport management. To this end, existing operational KPIs are supplemented by further dimensions mentioned above and their visualization is developed with a view to perceivability and conceivability in order to increase and maintain situational awareness. A current state of the art algorithm is presented on how to couple these different simulation approaches. Furthermore, an outlook is given on how new types of KPIs can be developed further by using the advantages of combining these simulation techniques. Our approach incorporates both environmental and economic parameters, enabling airport operators to correlate energy consumption with optimised airport management KPIs, such as flight punctuality, utilisation and cost of resources. This will contribute to a more comprehensive approach of airport management and promote sustainability. Finally, next steps in the implementation of this hybrid simulation and visualisation will be presented, and how it will contribute to informed decision-making in airport management by providing multi-dimensional evaluations in real time, thus fostering a climate-neutral aviation for our future.