Aviation Infrastructure
"The Aviation Infrastructure team focuses on the latest technologies and processes that ensure safe and sustainable air transport. With the development of new technologies, an important contribution can be made to reducing emissions (both globally and in the vicinity of airports) while maintaining the highest level of safety."
Dr. Michael Felux, Head of research unit Aviation Infrastructure
The research unit
The Aviation Infrastructure team deals with infrastructure in the context of aviation. This includes, for example, navigation systems such as the ground-based instrument landing system ILS or the global satellite navigation system GNSS.
In order to improve safety and sustainability in aviation, noise- and emission-optimized approach procedures using satellite navigation are investigated and simulations for assessing the safety of flight procedures (Collision Risk Modeling, CRM) are performed and analyzed. The use of satellite navigation procedures and supplementary systems is not only applied in the context of classical aviation but also in new application areas such as UAV navigation.
Another research focus is the investigation of the impact of jamming on air traffic. In this context, research is being conducted on robust Communications, Navigation, Surveillance (CNS) procedures to reduce the influence of jamming.
In addition to its research activities, the Aviation Infrastructure group offers students practical opportunities to apply and deepen the knowledge acquired during their studies. In the autumn semester 2026/27, students have the opportunity to carry out small, practice-oriented projects as part of the INFRA-AA module and to report on their work and findings. The resulting projects and results are presented here.
Project examples
The following types of projects are carried out in the research unit Aviation Infrastructure:
- HISU: Use of the GBAS corrections from Zurich Airport for UAV navigation.
- HISU-HAS: Accurate and reliable navigation using Galilleo's High Accuracy Service.
- CRM: Assessment of the safety of flight procedures.
- ERSNAP: Reduction of emissions by using satellite navigation during the final approach.
- Generic Collision Avoidance Algorithm.
- Prediction of arrival runway occupancy time and exit taxiway using ADS-B trajectories:
Hänggi, K., Waltert, M., & Wilde, J. (2026). Prediction of Arrival Runway Occupancy Time and Exit Taxiway Using ADS-B Trajectories. Journal of Open Aviation Science, 4(2). - Aerodrome movement monitoring using ADS-B data : a case study at Lommis Airfield:
Fustagueras, A., & Waltert, M. (2026). Aerodrome Movement Monitoring Using ADS-B Data: A Case Study at Lommis Airfield. Journal of Open Aviation Science, 4(2). - Evolving threats of GNSS interference in aviation : jamming, spoofing and TCAS anomalies:
Felux, M., Osechas, O., Fischer, V., Fischer, S., & Nietlispach, M. (2026, January). Evolving Threats of GNSS Interference in Aviation–Jamming, Spoofing and TCAS Anomalies. In Proceedings of the 2026 International Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation (pp. 854-863). - Spoofer bearing estimation using weighted C/N0 measurements of a directional antenna:
Fischer, V., Fischer, S., & Felux, M. (2026, January). Spoofer Bearing Estimation Using Weighted C/N0 Measurements of a Directional Antenna. In Proceedings of the 2026 International Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation (pp. 482-492). - Ground station pseudorange pre-smoothing and error model development for DFMC GBAS:
Nietlispach, M., Felux, M., McGraw, G. A., & Caamano, M. (2026, January). Ground Station Pseudorange Pre-Smoothing and Error Model Development for DFMC GBAS. In Proceedings of the 2026 International Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation (pp. 864-879). - Assessing airport surface traffic performance from open sources of aviation data:
Olive, X., Waltert, M., & Schultz, M. (2025, June). Assessing airport surface traffic performance from open sources of aviation data. In The 1st USA–Europe Air Transportation R&D Symposium. - Navigating turbulence : understanding new GNSS risks in conflict zones:
Felux, M., Figuet, B., Lenders, V., Monstein, R., & Strohmeier, M. (2025, May). Navigating turbulence: Understanding new GNSS risks in conflict zones. In 2025 17th International Conference on Cyber Conflict: The Next Step (CyCon) (pp. 245-264). IEEE. - Flexible facility requirements for strategic planning of airport passenger terminal infrastructure:
Waltert, M., Jimenez Perez, E., & Pagliari, R. (2025). Flexible facility requirements for strategic planning of airport passenger terminal infrastructure. Transportmetrica A: Transport Science, 21(3), 2287502. - Navigating interference : examining in-flight GNSS spoofing patterns and signal disruptions:
Felux, M., Fischer, V., Jochems, S., Figuet, B., & Monstein, R. (2025, January). Navigating interference-examining in-flight GNSS spoofing patterns and signal disruptions. In Proceedings of the 2025 international technical meeting of the institute of navigation (pp. 443-452). - Galileo HAS availability analysis using the internet data distribution service:
Jochems, S., Fischer, V., & Felux, M. (2024, April). Galileo HAS Availability Analysis Using the Internet Data Distribution Service. In Proceedings of the ION 2024 Pacific PNT Meeting (pp. 116-131). - Evaluating potential fuel-savings of external alternative ground propulsion systems:
Waltert, M., Figuet, B., & Felux, M. (2024). Evaluating potential fuel savings of external alternative ground propulsion systems. Journal of Open Aviation Science, 2(2). - Effects of GBAS/SBAS precision approach guidance on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions:
Felux, M., Waltert, M., Jochems, S., Fischer, V., Dautermann, T., & Meyer, O. (2024, September). Effects of GBAS/SBAS precision approach guidance on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. In Proceedings of the 37th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2024) (pp. 1612-1618). - Detection and localization of radio frequency interference sources:
Fischer, V., Jochems, S., & Felux, M. (2024, September). Detection and localization of radio frequency interference sources. In Proceedings of the 37th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2024) (pp. 769-780). - Smoother guidance - less emissions? GNSS-based precision approach guidance vs. ILS:
Michael, F., Alessio, S., Sophie, J., Valentin, F., Manuel, W., Oliver, M., ... & Bernd, K. (2024, September). Smoother Guidance-Less Emissions? GNSS-based Precision Approach Guidance vs. ILS. In 2024 AIAA DATC/IEEE 43rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) (pp. 1-6). IEEE. - Filtering aircraft surface trajectories using information on the taxiway structure of airports:
Olive, X., Waltert, M., Mori, R., & Mouyon, P. (2024, July). Filtering aircraft surface trajectories using information on the taxiway structure of airports. In Proceedings of the 111th International Conference on Research in Air Transportation (ICRAT 2024). Singapore. - Navigation needs for the unpiloted airspace:
Osechas, O., Felux, M., & McGraw, G. (2024, January). Navigation needs for the unpiloted airspace. In Proceedings of the 2024 International Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation (pp. 177-185). - Impacts of global navigation satellite system jamming on aviation:
Felux, M., Fol, P., Figuet, B., Waltert, M., & Olive, X. (2024). Impacts of global navigation satellite system jamming on aviation. NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, 71(3). - A cost-efficient RFI localization approach to detect GNSS jamming and spoofing:
Felux, M., Fischer, V., Jochems, S., Osechas, O., Waltert, M., Sarperi, L., & Strohmeier, M. (2024, January). A cost-efficient RFI localization approach to detect GNSS jamming and spoofing. In Proceedings of the 2024 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (pp. 374-380). - Leveraging GBAS for UAV flights:
Jochems, S., Fischer, V., Felux, M., Jäger, M., Sarperi, L., & Caccioppoli, N. (2023). Leveraging GBAS for UAV flights. Inside GNSS, 18. - GBAS for UAV operations : the positioning service, vertical integrity and operational lessons learned:
Fischer, V., Jochems, S., Jäger, M., Sarperi, L., & Felux, M. (2023, September). GBAS for UAV Operations–The Positioning Service, Vertical Integrity and Operational Lessons Learned. In Proceedings of the 36th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2023) (pp. 1783-1800). - On the value of a flexibly planned airport passenger building:
Waltert, M. (2023). On the Value of a Flexibly Planned Airport Passenger Building. Transportation Research Procedia, 75, 43-52. - Using ADS-B trajectories to measure how rapid exit taxiways affect airport capacity:
Waltert, M., & Figuet, B. (2023). Using ADS-B trajectories to measure how rapid exit taxiways affect airport capacity. Journal of Open Aviation Science, 1(2). - Analysing the impact of go-around occurrences at Large European airports:
Figuet, B., Koelle, R., Fernández, E. C., & Waltert, M. (2023). Analysing the impact of go-around occurrences at large European airports. Journal of Open Aviation Science, 1(2). - Data-driven mid-air collision risk modelling using extreme-value theory:
Figuet, B., Monstein, R., Waltert, M., & Morio, J. (2023). Data-driven mid-air collision risk modelling using extreme-value theory. Aerospace Science and Technology, 142, 108646. - Analysis of GNSS disruptions in European airspace:
Felux, M., Figuet, B., Waltert, M., Fol, P., Strohmeier, M., & Olive, X (2023, January). Analysis of GNSS disruptions in European Airspace. In Proceedings of the 2023 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (pp. 315-326). - Deep generative modelling of aircraft trajectories in terminal maneuvering areas:
Krauth, T., Lafage, A., Morio, J., Olive, X., & Waltert, M. (2023), Deep generative modelling of aircraft trajectories in terminal maneuvering areas. Machine Learning with Applications, 11, 100446. - Performance evaluation of the ionospheric threat mitigation strategies in dual-frequency multi-constellation GBAS:
Caamano, M., Gerbeth, D., Sato, H., Circiu, M. S., & Felux, M. (2023, April). Performance evaluation of the ionospheric threat mitigation strategies in dual-frequency multi-constellation GBAS. In 2023 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS) (pp. 196-207). IEEE. - GNSS jamming and its effect on air traffic in Eastern Europe:
Figuet, B., Waltert, M., Felux, M., Olive, X. (2022, December). GNSS jamming and its effect on air traffic in eastern Europe. Engineering Proceedings, 28(1), 12. - Large landing trajectory data set for go-around analysis:
Monstein, R., Figuet, B., Krauth, T., Waltert, M., & Dettling, M. (2022, December). Large Landing Trajectory Dataset for Go-Around Analysis. Engineering Proceedings, 28(1), 2 - Localization of interrogators with a 1030/1090 MHz spectrum monitoring system:
Sarperi, L., Jäger, M., Müller, P., & Felux, M. (2022, November). Localization of interrogators with a 1030/1090 MHz spectrum monitoring system. In 33rd Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), Stockholm, Sweden, 4-9 September 2022. International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences - Impact of GNSS outage on mid-air collision:
Figuet, B., Waltert, M., Monstein, R., & Felux, M. (2022, October). Impact of GNSS outage on mid-air collision risk. In Proceedings of International Workshop on ATM/CNS 2022 International Workshop on ATM/CNS (pp. 41-48). Electronic Navigation Research Institute - Flight Testing GBAS for UAV Operations:
Felux, M., Jochems, S., Schnüriger, P., Fischer, V., Steiner, P., Jäger, M., ... & Cacciopoli, N. (2022, September). Flight testing GBAS for UAV operations. In Proceedings of the 35th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2022) (pp. 1576-1588) - GBAS use cases beyond what was envisioned - drone navigation:
Jochems, S., Felux, M., Schnüriger, P., Jäger, M., & Sarperi, L. (2022, January). GBAS use cases beyond what was envisioned–drone navigation. In Proceedings of the 2022 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (pp. 310-320) - Synthetic aircraft trajectories generated with multivariate density models:
Krauth, T., Morio, J., Olive, X., Figuet, B., & Monstein, R. (2021, December). Synthetic aircraft trajectories generated with multivariate density models. Engineering Proceedings, 13(1), 7 - Ratio-based design hour determination for airport passenger terminal facilities:
Waltert, M., Wicki, J., Perez, E. J., & Pagliari, R. (2021, September). Ratio-based design hour determination for airport passenger terminal facilities. Journal of Air Transport Management, 96, 102125 - Predicting airplane go-arounds using machine learning and open-source data:
Figuet, B., Monstein, R., Waltert, M., & Barry, S. (2020, December). Predicting airplane go-arounds using machine learning and open-source data. In Proceedings (Vol. 59, No. 1, p. 6). MDPI - Combined multilateration with machine learning for enhanced aircraft localization:
Figuet, B., Monstein, R., & Felux, M. (2020, December). Combined Multilateration with Machine Learning for Enhanced Aircraft Localization. In Proceedings (Vol. 60, No. 1, p. 2). MDPI