Static Validation of the Enhanced Diversion Airport Selection Methodology

This paper describes the elaboration of Enhanced diversion airport selection methodology, which can be used for the optimization of flight planning by airline operators and the better diversion decisions in the real time operations. The paper is based on the analysis of the problematics of flight diversion from different perspectives and determining the factors influencing the diversion recovery. Based on these factors an methodology is proposed for decision making in the process of alternate airports selection during the planning process and real time operations. The selection methodology incorporates operational and commercial factors determining the suitability of an airport as an alternate destination. Emphasis is put on the economic suitability of the airport in terms of minimizing costs in case of flight diversion. In the validation process the methodology was applied on selected airports using real data and compared with actual operations, and as such presented to the experts. The result of the work is an optimized system for selecting an alternate airport in case of diversion from the destination, with the possibility of wider application and further elaboration when using the real-time shared data.