Dynamic gate configurations at airports: A network optimization approach

Abstract

We consider the configuration of airport gates with passenger boarding bridges. The set of aircraft types that can be serviced at a gate depends on the installed boarding bridge(s). For instance, the Airbus A380 can only be serviced at gates equipped with a passenger boarding bridge that is able to access its upper level. Given the dynamic development of both the number of aircraft movements and the fleet mix at airports, the recurring decision problem is to determine for each gate whether and when the passenger boarding bridge configuration should be changed. The objective is to minimize investment and operating costs associated with the bridges as well as penalty costs for aircraft which cannot be processed because gates that are equipped with adequate gate configurations are not available. We propose a mixed-integer model formulation and present its underlying network structure. To solve the problem, we employ a column generation based heuristic approach. We demonstrate the good performance of the heuristic in a computational study and present a detailed discussion of the decisions taken as part of a case study.