Robust flight-to-gate assignment using flight presence probabilities

Robust flight-to-gate assignment using flight presence probabilities

van Schaijk, Oscar R.P.
Visser, H.G. (TU Delft Air Transport & Operations)

2017-07-25

In this paper we present a novel method to improve the robustness of solutions to the Flight-to-Gate Assignment Problem (FGAP), with the aim to reduce the need for gate re-planning due to unpredicted flight schedule disturbances in the daily operations at an airport. We propose an approach in which the deterministic gate constraints are replaced by stochastic gate constraints that incorporate the inherent stochastic flight delays in such a way so as to ensure that the expected gate conflict probability of two flights assigned to the same gate at the same time does not exceed a user-specified value. The novel approach is integrated into an existing multiple time slot FGAP model that relies on a binary integer programming formulation and is tested using real-life data pertaining to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The results confirm that the proposed approach holds out great promise to improve the robustness of the FGAP solutions.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Gate assignment
gate conflict
mathematical programming
robustness
stochastic gate constraints

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:05b0f759-463a-4207-912f-fee5d68bce5b

https://doi.org/10.1080/03081060.2017.1355887

0308-1060

Transportation Planning and Technology, 40 (8), 928-945

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2017 Oscar R.P. van Schaijk, H.G. Visser