MODELLING FOR FUEL POLICY IN LOW VISIBILITY OPERATIONS IN AIRLINE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Purpose- It can be said that fuel costs have the highest share in airline operation costs. Therefore, fuel efficiency is important for cost optimization in airline operation management. Fuel efficiency has been studied in many ways in airline operation management in the literature. It can be reported that the cost optimization due to additional fuel transportation caused by meteorological conditions is also an important field. This study aims to provide data for making a decision to form a fuel policy for a flight schedule by determining the divert risk rate by analyzing previous meteorology reports when there is a risk of divert due to low visibility in meteorology reports. Methodology- Thus, by providing data for airline operation managers to make decisions that will provide fuel optimization, cost-effectiveness will also be contributed. Data for the study were taken from OGIMET (the Spanish meteorology website). A simulated flight was created for the study, and the past period forecast efficiency was calculated from previous meteorological data to determine the divert risk rate. Then, it was revealed how much the divert risk rate was reduced if additional fuel was carried for the flight according to the past period meteorological data to ensure that the aircraft waited for suitable conditions in the air at the landing aerodrome. Findings- The above results reveal the divert risk rate for the airline39 flights when additional fuel is loaded and without loading additional fuel in low visibility forecast operations for the three months of the year when low visibility is more common, based on past meteorological data. Conclusion- As a result of the study, it can be reported that a model has been created relating to how to determine the divert risk rate to make a fuel policy decision for a flight schedule when there is a risk of diverting due to low visibility in airline operation management. Keywords: Airline operation management, low visibility, fuel policy, airline fuel efficieny, divert risk ratio, JEL Codes: L93, M21, C44