An algorithm for single- and multiple-runway aircraft landing problem

摘要

The aircraft landing problem (ALP) is the problem of allocating an airport's runways to arriving aircraft as well as scheduling the landing time of aircraft, with the objective of minimizing the total deviation from the target landing times. We propose a simple heuristic to solve ALP. The distinguishing factor of the proposed algorithm includes decomposing the problem into a chain of smaller and easier-to-solve problems. We show that utilizing this strategy is very effective in solving the problem in a short time. Our work is motivated by the dynamic nature of the problem, i.e., due to the continuous changes in the number of arriving flights and a short window for determining the landing schedule, the air traffic controller needs to solve the problem on a regular basis and update the landing schedule, and fast and effective algorithms are therefore paramount. By solving two sets of 124 benchmark instances we demonstrate that we fulfill this aim and that the proposed algorithm obtains satisfactory solutions in a short amount of time.