Assessment and optimization of airport operational resilience under severe weather conditions: A case study of snowstorm

To scientifically assess airport operational systems’ performance and resilience, we developed a comprehensive performance-indicator model based on the operational status of arrival and departure flights. In addressing limitations of conventional departure-rate metrics, we introduced the actual departure rate (ADR) alongside a resilience assessment model. We proposed an IVY-KMEDOIDS clustering algorithm to optimize airport resilience by enhancing the traditional KMEDOIDS algorithm, which groups hours with similar operational conditions into clusters and formulates optimization strategies for departure flights. We analyzed operational and meteorological data from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH), China, during snowstorms. The results demonstrated that ADR more accurately represented airport performance than conventional metrics and that resilience assessments based on ADR more closely reflected operational reality. The IVY-optimized KMEDOIDS algorithm determined the optimal cluster count from data collected at 11 snowstorm-impacted airports, achieving 20 clusters with a silhouette coefficient of 0.4756, a Davies–Bouldin index value of 1.4119, and a Calinski-Harabasz index value of 102.1020, thereby illustrating superior clustering performance. Hourly departure optimization strategies for WUH improved resilience by 0 . 13 − 3 . 18 on the first day and by 0 . 026 − 0 . 73 on the second. In robustness validation, the framework demonstrated strong applicability at Chengdu Shuangliu and Chengdu Tianfu airports and exhibited high robustness at four U.S. airports. Airports such as Atlanta and Chicago O’Hare experienced winter storms. This study establishes a scientific basis for airport operational management under severe weather conditions, thereby enhancing resilience and response capabilities. • Developed a performance indicator model for evaluating airport operational systems. • Improved departure rate metrics by incorporating delayed flights and introducing ADR. • Established an airport operational resilience evaluation model based on ADR. • Proposed IVY-KMEDOIDS clustering algorithm for resilience optimization. • Improved resilience at WUH Airport, with significant recovery during severe weather.