GOT a Flight

To comply with security and airline protocol, air travelers should arrive at the airport well in advance of their flight. Without realizing the probability of adverse conditions at the time of the scheduled departure, they may experience inconvenient delays at the airport. Delays can be short and relatively easy to manage, or they can cause long hours of waiting in crowded airports. Flight delays can even cause forced overnight stays at local hotels or inside the terminal. Travelers could benefit from knowing the likelihood of a delay as it could help them prepare for the wait time. Can an app be developed that predicts the impact of weather on airplane departure times?

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the 69% of flight delays in the National Airspace System are caused by adverse weather conditions. GOT a Flight is an application that predicts the possibility of a delay caused by adverse weather conditions.

The potential and complexity of the solution is that the prediction is not based on old statistics, but it is based on the future and current forecasts combined with aviation reports and multiple factors that influence the weather­-related delays, such as the position of the runways at the airport, the number of runways, the aircraft specifications, the conditions for emergency landings at the departure airport and the International Aviation Standards and Regulations . This information is public; the key point is to combine the correct factors and to generate the most precise rules.

In addition, GOT a Flight introduces the new concept of “insurance” in the aviation sector by offering flight insurance policies to cover extra expenses incurred due to the delay.

The model proposed has been validated, and the Technical Specifications Document present in the website of the product contains some scenarios as real examples. This document also explains how the prediction is calculated and highlights important concepts from Aeronautics.

As part of the project, we also present a roadmap with additional features aimed to improve the accuracy of the prediction.

• GOT a Flight Web Page and Technical Specifications: http://www.delay.ml/
• GOT a Flight Application: http://www.delay.ml/demo/
• GOT a Flight Github: https://github.com/lucaslencinas/spaceapp

● Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)
● National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)
● Aviation Weather Center (AWC)
● Federal Aviation Association (FAA)
● Aeronautical Charts (Instrument Flight Rules Enroute High Altitude Charts) ­ FAA
● Boeing 737 ­ 600/700/800/900 Flight Crew Training Manual
● International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): Manual of All­ Weather Operations ­ DOC 9365
● United States Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
● Forecast.io
● University of California, Berkeley: Flight Delay Study
● IBM Bluemix