Metaheuristic for a Flight Service Scheduling Problem in Viet Nam

In this study, we address a simple version of a challenging task of a practical scheduling problem when one needs to efficiently allocate technical staff for flight services at an international airport in Viet Nam. The problem arises when the airport needs to optimize the utilization of human resources for inspecting a set of aircraft during a work shift. The staff available for inspection possess the same skill level, but they are subject to labor law restrictions, such as limited work hours during the shift and mandatory long breaks. The primary objective is to minimize the labor required for the aircraft inspection process. To achieve this, we initially formulate the problem using a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) approach. However, we acknowledge that MILP formulation has its limitations in terms of computational complexity and difficulty in finding fast solutions. To overcome these challenges, we propose an Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search solution approach. This metaheuristic enables us to solve the allocation problem efficiently and effectively. To validate the effectiveness of our approach, we conducted computational experiments on various scenarios. The results demonstrate the importance of incorporating flexibility regulations in the allocation process, leading to improved resource utilization, and minimized labor requirements for aircraft inspection at airports.