Workforce scheduling in the aviation industry

This study presents an optimized workforce scheduling model for airport ground operations, aimed at minimizing labor costs while ensuring a fair allocation of less desirable shifts, including nights, weekends, and public holidays. The model targets Loaders and Ground Support Equipment Operators servicing Category C aircraft and is formulated using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming approach, implemented through OpenSolver in Microsoft Excel. It addresses the dual goals of cost efficiency and fairness in shift distribution. To examine the trade-off between these objectives, the Epsilon Constraint Method was applied. Results show that reducing labor costs tends to increase imbalance in shift assignments, while improving fairness requires accepting higher operational costs. A validation using a 14-day scheduling period confirmed the model’s consistent behavior, demonstrating its robustness across different planning durations. In practice, this model serves as a practical decision-support tool for airport workforce planners, enabling data-driven scheduling that balances budget constraints with fair shift distribution.