Benefits of Virtual Queuing at Congested Airports Using ASDE-X: a Case Study of JFK Airport

ASDE-X is a runway safety system that fuses data from multiple sources to provide enhanced air traffic control situational awareness. These data may also be used to manage arrival and departure delay at congested airports. This paper demonstrates the potential for delay management by using departure data recorded by the ASDE-X system at JFK Airport before runway reconstruction in 2010 began. The paper lays out concepts, data, metrics, and a framework to estimate benefits from virtual queuing, a departure management system that allows the aircraft to maintain their rolling spots in the queue without physically joining the queue. While virtual queuing is relatively more common in Europe, its use in the US is limited. This analysis demonstrates that there may be significant benefit, even with most conservative assumptions, of using virtual queuing for departure management at congested airports. Environmental benefits of virtual queuing at JFK Airport are significant.