Review of optimization problems, models and methods for airline disruption management from 2010 to 2024

Abstract

This paper conducts a thorough review of airline disruption management between 2010 and 2024. Unlike previous review papers, the present paper analyses the research on airline disruption management in three ways. One is to perform a statistical analysis of these papers based on the journal distribution, number of papers by year, and types of recovery resources. The second is to categorize integrated recovery methods based on the degree of integration of the resources during the recovery process: the aircraft and crew, the aircraft and passengers, and all three resources. The last way is to study the research findings based on statistical analysis and perform future research direction identification in the areas of problems, models, and solution approaches. Further, with the increasing complexity of actual demands, integrated flight disruption recovery considering multiple factors such as aircraft, crew, and passengers has become a research hotspot in recent years. For further research, we can delve deeper into issues from both practical circumstances and theoretical extensions. At the model level, more detailed characterizations are needed, along with more efficient solution methods to accommodate increasingly complex problems.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Airline disruption management / Integrated recovery / Review paper / Statistical analysis / Research direction