Determination of flights with the most efficient fuel flow during descent phase based on real flight data using panel data and stochastic frontier analysis methods

The increasing air traffic requires the best use of terminal control airspace. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the technical efficiency of the fuel flow of aircraft using the standard arrival route based on the collection point merge system (PMS) implemented at Sabiha Gökçen Airport, which is the second busiest airport in terms of air traffic in Turkiye. There are many factors affecting the fuel flow of airplanes. Flight time, altitude, flight path angle (FPA), true airspeed (TAS), distance, engine fan speed (N1), temperature and vertical speed (ROD) are the variables identified. Considering these variables, the variables with a high relationship with fuel flow were analyzed by Panel Data Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis Methods, and model analysis and technical efficiency analysis were performed respectively. As a result of the analyses, efficient and inefficient flights have been identified. The FPA and fuel flows of efficient and inefficient flights were examined according to the specified speed ranges. Considering the same speed range (231-270 knots), it was observed that efficient flights descended with FPAs of 2,5-3,0, while inefficient flights descended with FPAs of 3,5-4,0. It was found that traffic descending with higher FPAs led to higher fuel consumption. It was concluded that descending with FPAs of 2,5-3,0 resulted in more efficient flights in terms of fuel consumption.