Multi-commodity flow network model of the flight gate assignment problem

The flight gate assignment problem is encountered by gate managers at an airport on a periodic basis. This assignment should be made so as to balance carrier efficiency and passenger comfort, while providing buffers for unexpected events that cause assignment disruptions. In this paper, a binary integer multi-commodity gate flow network model is presented with the objective of minimizing the fuel burn cost of aircraft taxi by type and expected passenger discomfort for “tight” connections as a function of inter-gate distance and connection time. This approach is shown to be computationally efficient within a decomposition approach for large problem instances. A numerical application of this approach is given for the gating of Continental Airlines at George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH).

► We develop a multi-commodity flow network formulation of gate assignment. ► The objective is to minimize fuel burn and passenger discomfort. ► Discomfort is a penalty function of inter-gate walking distance and connection time. ► Analysis using real data for Continental Airlines at Houston Intercontinental Airport.