Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Samsun Av. & Aero. Res. J., cilt.1, sa.1, ss.24-52, 2025 (Hakemli Dergi)
The constant increase in global air traffic demand continues to put serious pressure on airport runway capacity, particularly at major hubs, where arrival and departure movements occur in rapid succession. A key factor limiting runway throughput is the minimum separation required for consecutive aircraft due to wake turbulence. These conventional separations, which are static and based on broad aircraft weight categories and have often been shown to be overly conservative and operationally restrictive under many traffic and meteorological conditions. Therefore, the RECAT-EU program, developed by EUROCONTROL, has redefined wake turbulence categories and their associated minima. The aim is to establish more flexible and efficient separation schemes that maintain safety while improving capacity. In this study, a Monte Carlo–based simulation framework was developed to evaluate and compare runway capacities under ICAO and RECAT-EU separation standards. Simulations were performed for three aircraft fleets with different traffic compositions, as well as for single-mode and mixed-mode runway operations. The results show that applying RECAT-EU separation minima results in significant capacity improvements of between 14% and 27%, depending on the traffic mix and operational type. These findings confirm that adopting dynamic, optimized separation standards, such as those set out in RECAT-EU, can lead to more efficient runway utilization while maintaining the required safety margins.