Optimization of eVTOL arrival–departure scheduling under layered airspace with diverse approach patterns

An appropriate airspace design is crucial for enhancing the operational efficiency of electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL) in the vertiport terminal maneuvering area (VTMA). Current airspace configurations often integrate arrival and departure flows, leading to severe operational conflicts. Furthermore, existing scheduling models predominantly focus on single-phase operations and lack adaptive approach-path designs tailored for confined urban environments. To address these limitations, a VTMA arrival and departure layered airspace was designed to improve overall operational performance. The layered airspace consists of dedicated arrival and departure areas to minimize potential conflicts between the arrival and departure eVTOL. In this layered airspace, the approaching with hovering (AwH) and the approaching with circulating (AwC) operational rules were proposed. Based on these operational rules, an adaptive approach points generation algorithm was developed to determine both the number and coordinates of approach points considering safety separation and geometric constraints. Furthermore, an eVTOL arrival and departure scheduling model was established, taking into account eVTOL holding time, performance characteristics, and conflict avoidance constraints. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed layered airspace outperforms the integrated arrival and departure airspace, reducing the average ground waiting time by 73%, 49%, and 53%; the average departure delay by 35%, 36%, and 36%; and the fleet departure time by 9%, 7%, and 1% under scenarios with 20, 40, and 60 eVTOLs, respectively. In emergency scenarios, AwC operational rule demonstrates superior performance compared with AwH operational rule in sequencing adjustments. Specifically, when the number of arrival directions is two and three, the average arrival delay of AwC operational rule is 15% and 15% lower than that of AwH operational rule.