Design of an Air Traffic Collaborative Decision-Making Process Based on Multi-Agent System

The goal of this paper is to present the design process for air traffic Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM) based on multi-agent system. Currently, air traffic congestion and delays are the most severe problems facing the aviation industry, which causes inefficiency and traveler disappointment. To cope with the situation, CDM can be implemented to improve planning, on-time performance and operations in adverse conditions. During CDM implementation process, airport, ATC and airlines can discuss methods to solve problems in common interest; while in dynamic operation environment, all the actors of the air transport, which can be viewed as an agent individually, will need to negotiate to reach an optimal goal. The paper first introduces the roles and activities of airport, ATC (mainly terminal control, which deals with traffic inbound or outbound from a major or several major airports) and airline. Then, the article presents the negotiation process using Monotonic Concession Protocol among some actors. Finally, the paper provides a case to show the effectiveness of the CDM process using multi-agent system.