A Population Metaheuristic for the Gate Assignment Problem with Multiple Terminals and Heterogeneous Gates: A Case Study at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport

This work addresses the problem of aircraft allocation to airport gates in a scenario with multiple terminals and heterogeneous gates. The proposed model incorporates realistic operational constraints and aims to simultaneously minimize the displacement of passengers and baggage, an aspect still little explored in the literature. It is an NP-difficult problem, whose resolution by exact methods is challenging in large instances. Thus, a hybrid approach based on a population metaheuristic is proposed, combined with local search procedures and feasibility to address the operational constraints of the problem. As a contribution, real instances of the Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (Galeão) were developed, considering scenarios with 100 to 150 flights. The results indicate that the approach generates viable solutions in compatible computational times, evidencing its potential for practical application.