Airport Time Slot Auction System Design

Design Team Picture: (Left to Right) Ben Howe, Claudia Richardson, Mathew Rigdon, Sean Sprauge, Stephen Russel (one missing)

Design Problem: Design and Test an Airport Slot Auctioning System. The System should provide for both long-term strategic auctions as well as real-time spot auctions.

The saturation of the commercial Hub and Spoke air transportation system is leading the Department of Transportation and the Department of Justice to consider auctioning time slots at major US airports. The air transportation network is a complex adaptive system that exhibits strong non-linear behavior. The Federal government has overall responsibility to maintain a safe and efficient air transportation system. The airlines must maintain financial viability and invest in capital resources to purchase and operate a fleet of aircraft. Since the 1978 deregulation of the airline industry, the airlines determine their schedule. National investment in airport infrastructure has not kept up with the demand for air transportation.

Sponsor: MITRE Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Development, Dr. Fred Weiland, Team Advisor