Optimizing flight equencing and gate assignment considering terminal configuration and walking time

Operating airline hub-and-spoke networks (HSN) rather than direct flights among city pairs may significantly reduce supplier cost; however, passengers' travel time may significantly increase due to increased transfer and in-flight time. The costs considered in this study are hub-related and incurred by passengers and aircraft (i.e., passenger transfer, flight dwelling, and gate occupancy). The objective is to minimize the total cost by optimizing flight sequence (i.e., arrivals and departures) and gate assignment, while considering transfer speed, transfer demand, flight size, gate size and terminal configuration. A real-world HSN whose hub airport (HA) is located at Xianyang International Airport (XIY) in Xi'an, China is analyzed. The optimized solutions and their relations to various model parameters are explored.