Ground handling operations at airports include a wide range of services such as baggage handling, aircraft maintenance, and passenger services. The complex associations and dynamic nature of these operations demand not just efficiency but also adaptability and precision in resource management.
This research introduces a novel approach for scheduling ground handling operations, by integrating Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) and Hopcroft-Karp algorithm to match ground handling operations and multi-skilled personnel. First, the task scheduling is addressed, which involves the adapted RCPSP model to the ground handling operations, considering various constraints including time windows, personnel availability, and task dependencies. Second, the allocation of multi-skilled personnel is tackled, which introduces a modified Hopcroft-Karp algorithm to match the scheduled tasks with the applicable personnel based on their skills and availability. The overall objective is the minimisation of delays, i.e. deviations from the planned activities.
We demonstrate the performance of this approach under different conditions such as delays or resource shortage for an exemplary data set of an airport. We compare different scenarios and present the benefits of this approach.