Integrated air-rail multimodal strategy for aircraft and passenger recovery

This study integrates High-Speed Rail (HSR) into airline recovery operations to enhance disruption management. An integrated air–rail recovery optimization model is developed to provide passengers with flexible itineraries combining flights and HSR connections. The model enables coordinated aircraft and passenger recovery by utilizing available capacity across both modes and strategically reserving limited air resources for critical flights, thereby improving overall recovery efficiency. By capturing the operational characteristics of HSR as public transport, the framework is also applicable to airline alliances. To ensure computational tractability, a Benders decomposition algorithm is employed. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach enhances airlines’ operational flexibility, prioritizes key flights, and effectively mitigates prolonged passenger delays. • Develop an integrated air–rail disruption recovery framework. • Coordinate aircraft and passenger recovery in a unified model. • Model HSR as a schedule-based public transport resource. • Generate flexible air, rail, and combined recovery itineraries. • Solve the large-scale model using Benders decomposition.