A global optimization approach to solve multi-aircraft routing problems

"This chapter appears in Computational Models, Software Engineering and Advanced Technologies in Air Transportation edited by Dr. Li Weigang and Dr. Alexandre G. de Barros. Chap.12 pp.237-259. Copyright 2009. Posted by permission of the publisher."This paper describes the formulation and solution of a multi-aircraft routing problem which is posed as a global optimization calculation. The paper extends previous work (involving a single aircraft using two dimensions) which established that the algorithm DIRECT is a suitable solution technique. The present work considers a number of ways of dealing with multiple routes using different problem decompositions. A further enhancement is the introduction of altitude to the problems so that full three-dimensional routes can be produced. Illustrative numerical results are presented involving up to three aircraft and including examples which feature routes over real-life terrain data