An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation Optimization

Airports worldwide face a significant gap between capacity and demand. As a short-term solution, the International Air Transport Association has implemented schedule coordination rules at busy airports. While the complex slot allocation problem has been studied extensively, most research focuses on...

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Main Authors: Qiangzhe Wang, Yuanyuan Ma, Yifan Xu, Zhiyuan Shen, Dan Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11018377/
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author Qiangzhe Wang
Yuanyuan Ma
Yifan Xu
Zhiyuan Shen
Dan Li
author_facet Qiangzhe Wang
Yuanyuan Ma
Yifan Xu
Zhiyuan Shen
Dan Li
author_sort Qiangzhe Wang
collection DOAJ
description Airports worldwide face a significant gap between capacity and demand. As a short-term solution, the International Air Transport Association has implemented schedule coordination rules at busy airports. While the complex slot allocation problem has been studied extensively, most research focuses on single airports, overlooking interactions with other airports. Limited studies on network-level allocation lack scalability for real-world problems. This study develops an optimization model to enhance schedule synchronization among airports with connection dependencies. The model integrates differentiated slot priorities and flight connection requirements under capacity constraints, while introducing unassigned request variables to address request overflow scenarios. Accordingly, an enhanced large neighborhood search algorithm was developed with three proposed spatial-temporal neighborhood structures specifically designed for the model characteristics. Validated through an extensive case study involving 4,695 requests across six hub airports, the algorithm achieves solutions within a 1.7% optimality gap while reducing computation time by up to 64%.
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institution DOAJ
issn 2169-3536
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Access
spelling doaj-art-aa581653d33d4e6aab7c608312609da92025-08-20T03:10:06ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113979019791810.1109/ACCESS.2025.357532311018377An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation OptimizationQiangzhe Wang0Yuanyuan Ma1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6988-6944Yifan Xu2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4098-998XZhiyuan Shen3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6103-750XDan Li4College of Civil Aviation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, ChinaThe 28th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Nanjing, ChinaCollege of Civil Aviation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, ChinaCollege of Civil Aviation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, ChinaCollege of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, ChinaAirports worldwide face a significant gap between capacity and demand. As a short-term solution, the International Air Transport Association has implemented schedule coordination rules at busy airports. While the complex slot allocation problem has been studied extensively, most research focuses on single airports, overlooking interactions with other airports. Limited studies on network-level allocation lack scalability for real-world problems. This study develops an optimization model to enhance schedule synchronization among airports with connection dependencies. The model integrates differentiated slot priorities and flight connection requirements under capacity constraints, while introducing unassigned request variables to address request overflow scenarios. Accordingly, an enhanced large neighborhood search algorithm was developed with three proposed spatial-temporal neighborhood structures specifically designed for the model characteristics. Validated through an extensive case study involving 4,695 requests across six hub airports, the algorithm achieves solutions within a 1.7% optimality gap while reducing computation time by up to 64%.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11018377/Airport slot allocationlarge neighborhood searchschedule coordination
spellingShingle Qiangzhe Wang
Yuanyuan Ma
Yifan Xu
Zhiyuan Shen
Dan Li
An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation Optimization
IEEE Access
Airport slot allocation
large neighborhood search
schedule coordination
title An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation Optimization
title_full An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation Optimization
title_fullStr An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation Optimization
title_full_unstemmed An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation Optimization
title_short An Improved Large Neighborhood Search for Network-Level Airport Slot Allocation Optimization
title_sort improved large neighborhood search for network level airport slot allocation optimization
topic Airport slot allocation
large neighborhood search
schedule coordination
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11018377/
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