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January 20, 2026
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Article
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Cell-Based Optimization of Air Traffic Control Sector Boundaries Using Traffic Complexity

Publicated to: AEROSPACE. 13 (1): 101-101 - 2026-01-20, DOI: 10.3390/aerospace13010101

Authors:

Gomez Arnaldo, Cesar; Arroyo Lopez, Jose Maria; Delgado-Aguilera Jurado, Raquel; Zamarreno Suarez, Maria; Perez Castan, Javier Alberto; Perez Moreno, Francisco
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Affiliations

UPM, Dept Aerosp Syst Air Transport & Airports, ETSIAE, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author

Abstract

The increasing demand for air travel has intensified the need for more efficient air traffic management (ATM) solutions. One of the key challenges in this domain is the optimal sectorization of airspace to ensure balanced controller workload and operational efficiency. Traditional airspace sectors, typically static and based on historical flow patterns, often fail to adapt to evolving traffic complexity, resulting in imbalanced workload distribution and reduced system performance. This study introduces a novel methodology for optimizing ATC sector geometries based on air traffic complexity indicators, aiming to enhance the balance of operational workload across sectors. The proposed optimization is formulated in the horizontal plane using a two-dimensional cell-based airspace representation. A graph-partitioning optimization model with spatial and operational constraints is applied, along with a refinement step using adjacent-cell pairs to improve geometric coherence. Tested on real data from Madrid North ACC, the model achieved significant complexity balancing while preserving sector shapes in a real-world case study based on a Spanish ACC. This work provides a methodological basis to support static and dynamic airspace design and has the potential to enhance ATC efficiency through data-driven optimization.
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Keywords

Air trafficCellComplexityHeuristic searchManagementModelOccupancyOptimizationSector

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal AEROSPACE due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2026, it was in position 17/59, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Engineering, Aerospace. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Aerospace Engineering.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-11-12:

  • Open Alex: 1
  • WoS: 1
  • Scopus: 1
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-11-12:

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
    • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/95800/
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    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (GOMEZ ARNALDO, CESAR) and Last Author (PÉREZ MORENO, FRANCISCO).

    the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been GOMEZ ARNALDO, CESAR.

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    Awards linked to the item

    Acknowledgement to the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades of Spain, as this study is part of the project AirST-FRAME (Grant PID2023-150782OB-C21 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER, UE), a project funded as part of the Spanish program to foster, promote and encourage innovation and scientific work in universities.
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