Network planning for scheduling operations in air cargo handling: A tool in medium terms goodsflow control

In the hub of a hub-and-spokes network for airfreight transportation, the main part of the incoming and outgoing goodsflow is in special loading units for airfreight. These loading units are metal pallets and containers up to eighteen cubic meters in size. The key part of operations in the hub is breaking down incoming loading units and building up outgoing loading units. These opeations are subject to resource restrictions (limited number of platforms and manpower teams) and time restirctions (between arrival times of flights and departure times of flights). With some substitutions, standard software for network planning is successfully applied to scheduling transshipment operations of loading units.