A model and a solution algorithm for airport common use check-in counter assignments

In this research we develop an integer programming model to assist airport authorities to assign common use check-in counters. Due to the many complicated factors that have to be considered in such a model, the problem size is expected to be huge, making its solution difficult and therefore not applicable to the real world. Therefore, we develop a heuristic method, containing three heuristic models, to solve the model. These heuristic models are formulated as zero-one integer programs that can be solved using the simplex method and the branch-and-bound technique. To test how well the proposed models and the solution method may be applied in the real world, we perform a case study concerning the operations of a major airport in Taiwan. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.