Optimizing future performance for the Iraqi airport system by using a system dynamics approach

In airport system planning,the improvements plan for individual airports represents a challenging task due to its huge economic impacts on all parties sharing the air transportation business. this paper presents an analysis in which the optimum improvement schedule for the iraqi national airport system is determined with respect to terminal area passengers by using a system dynamics framework in which a base model is created to simulate the behavior for each airport regarding the impact of future demand as compared to existing capacity. this model shows that three out of six airports are expected to suffer from extreme excess in demand over capacity,termed as overload several scenarios were therefore generated to determine the most suitable structure that mitigates the biggest portion of this overload with relatively lower operational expenses and capital investments as measured on total system scale. it was found that the best scenario,on which the improvements schedule is to be designed,is the one that transfers excess demand to the neighboring,less congested,airports at first,and then capacity improvements to take effect when the utilization ratio attains 110% in major airports and 150% in secondary ones.