The aircraft ground routing problem: Analysis of industry punctuality indicators in a sustainable perspective

The ground routing problem consists in scheduling the movements of aircraft on the ground between runways and parking positions while respecting operational and safety requirements in the most efficient way. We present a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) formulation for routing aircraft along a predetermined path. This formulation is generalized to allow several possible paths. Our model takes into account the classical performance indicators of the literature (the average taxi and completion times) but also the main punctuality indicators of the air traffic industry (the average delay and the on time performance). Then we investigate their relationship through experiments based on real data from Copenhagen airport (CPH). We show that the industry punctuality indicators are in contradiction with the objective of reducing taxi times and therefore pollution emissions. We propose new indicators that are more sustainable, but also more relevant for stakeholders. We also show that the runway is the main bottleneck of CPH airport and that alternate paths cannot improve the performance indicators.