Scheduling Aircraft Landings Dynamically Using Stochastic and Deterministic Elements

The characteristics of a dynamic implementation of the single-runway aircraft landing problem were analysed using some well-known datasets. Given the nature and degree of complexity of this problem, a specific hybrid algorithm was developed, consisting of a stochastic and a deterministic element. The deterministic scheduler divides the aircraft into logical landing sequences as part of the recursive time line optimisation process. A relatively new stochastic algorithm called Extremal Optimisation uses the deterministic scheduling element for finding the optimal permutation. The new hybrid algorithm was observed to produce better results in a dynamic environment than other approaches, while the only available measure for solution quality is not unequivocal in a dynamic context. Insights on the reliability of the solver were gained testing variations of both problem instances and solver.