Aerodrome control unit workload decision support system: Izmir Adnan Menderes airport case

The air traffic control service may divide into three parts according to the position of the traffic receiving service and the phase in flight. These sections are aerodrome control, approach control, and area control. At airports where service is provided 24/7 days a week, ATC service is also provided from aerodrome control units continuously. Due to the nature of the work, ATC service includes high attention, instant decision making and fast problem solving. For these reasons, controllers exposed to heavy workload may lose attention and experience disorders in their decision-making ability. Moreover, workload of the aerodrome control units varies depending on meteorological conditions and flight intensity. Due to aerodynamic principles, airplanes want to land and take off by meeting prevailing wind direction, and this is a fundamental reason for possible runway changes. During periods of low visibility due to meteorological reasons (eg. fog and haze), aircraft may need to approach more precisely, separation values between aircraft may need to be increased, and the sensitivity of the service provided in ground operations may increase. In addition, critical separations must be made during periods of high flight intensity. Such situations are periods of increased workload, stress, and risk. Considering these, predicting the intensity of the possible workload for the future time zones is crucial for the controllers. Thanks to system developed in thesis, controller can see the estimated values of the factors affecting the possible workload for the time period. It is aimed that user can evaluate all the variables together and makes more consistent decisions in line with the estimated data.