Dutch Caribbean Airspace Redesign and Simulation

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Dutch Caribbean Airspace Redesign and Simulation

An airspace redesign was carried out for Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire to improve traffic flows, reduce emissions, and balance controller workload. Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs), a local corridor, and international airways were developed and tested in BlueSky simulations. Results showed that the design supported efficient routing, manageable controller loads, and realistic scalability. The project received 1st place in TU Delft’s annual Air Traffic Management competition.

This project redesigned the Dutch Caribbean airspace within the Curaçao FIR, focusing on the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire. The team developed control zones (CTR), terminal areas (TMA), a control area (CTA), upper airspace (UTA), and restricted zones using ICAO guidelines and regional AIP data. Dedicated SIDs and STARs were built for each island, a local DC Triangle corridor was introduced for regional flights at 4,000 ft, and international airways were defined with free-routing zones to the north.

The design was tested with a BlueSky simulation of 77 aircraft over a two-hour peak period, combining regional flights (26%) with international traffic (74%). Aircraft types ranged from DHC-6 for local hops to B737s, B787s, and A330s for long-haul operations. Controllers applied realistic separation rules, and conflict management relied mainly on altitude and speed adjustments.

Main insights from the study:

  • Efficient routing was achieved: most flights flew within 10% of their shortest possible route length, though some regional flights deviated more due to restricted areas.
  • Controller workload remained within acceptable bounds (max. 11 aircraft in the busiest sector), though traffic was unevenly distributed, with Aruba’s arrival flows causing localized peaks.
  • Bottlenecks appeared at the convergence of Aruba’s STARs and in clustered departures from Bonaire and Curaçao, showing where redesign or point-merge systems could help in the future.
  • Simulating exaggerated traffic volumes proved useful: while higher than today’s reality, it ensured the airspace design could handle future growth.

The project was awarded 1st place in TU Delft’s annual Air Traffic Management competition, with the jury including experts from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and LVNL (Dutch Air Traffic Control).

Note: Due to university policies, I cannot share the full report, code, or detailed data. If you are interested in discussing the methodology or results further, please get in touch :)