ORDERbyCHAOS - ground operations

Efficient airline operations are crucial for minimising delays, reducing costs, and ensuring a smooth travel experience for passengers. Ground handling processes, such as aircraft turnaround, are complex and need to be well-coordinated to happen in the right order and as efficiently as possible. Disruptions on the ground can affect flight schedules, impacting passengers and airline operations. With increasing air traffic and the need for punctuality, airlines must find ways to manage these challenges effectively.

With the ORDERbyCHAOS research project (Optimising Resilience, mitigating Disruptions and Enhancing Robustness by using Combinatorial Heuristics for Airline Operational Scheduling) we focus on improving the resilience of airline ground handling by creating more robust schedules that are less affected by disruptions and by resolving operational changes in real time. It considers both individual processes and their interactions to minimise the impact of disruptions across operations.

Testing prototype algorithms

Conducted in collaboration with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, this research uses data and smart algorithms to optimise ground handling processes. By implementing and testing prototype algorithms, the study demonstrates their effectiveness in practice.

The findings aim to reduce delays for passengers and improve working conditions for ground staff by preventing or resolving disruptions. By enhancing the efficiency of airline operations, this research contributes to a more reliable and resilient air travel experience.

Researcher

Lisanne Heuseveldt (Department of Information and Computing Sciences)

Academic supervisor

Dr. ir. Marjan van den Akker (Department of Information and Computing Sciences)

Grant funding agency and (co-)funding non-academic partners

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines