Airport configuration is the combination of runways used for arrivals and departures and the flow direction on those runways. For example, one configuration may use a set of runways in a north-to-south flow (or just “south flow”) while another uses south-to-north flow (“north flow”). Air traffic officials may change an airport configuration depending on weather, traffic, or other inputs. These changes can result in delays to flights, which may have to alter their flight paths well ahead of reaching the airport to get into the correct alignment or enter holding patterns in the air as the flows are altered. The decisions to change the airport configuration are driven by data and observations, meaning it is possible to predict these changes in advance and give flight operators time to adjust schedules in order to reduce delays and wasted fuel. The goal of this challenge is to automatically predict airport configuration changes from real-time data sources including air traffic and weather. Better algorithms for predicting future airport configurations can support critical decisions, reduce costs, conserve energy, and mitigate delays across the national airspace network.
Award: $40,000 in total prizes
Open Date: January 25, 2022
Close Date: April 25, 2022
For more information, visit: https://www.drivendata.org/competitions/89/competition-nasa-airport-configuration/