Evaluating flight-aware charging for electric aircraft under airport-specific pricing

The electrification of aviation presents a strategic opportunity to decarbonize short-haul and regional air transport, yet it also introduces complex challenges in aligning high-power, time-critical charging operations with airport infrastructure, electricity pricing regimes, and grid capacity constraints. This study proposes a flight-aware scheduling framework for electric aircraft (E-aircraft) that jointly optimizes charging decisions based on airport-specific time-of-use (TOU) tariffs and peak demand charges, while explicitly accounting for flight timetables, turnaround windows, and energy demand uncertainty. To evaluate operational and policy-relevant trade-offs, we formulate three optimization models: a deterministic baseline, a stochastic model using sample average approximation (SAA), and a robust model based on exponential cone programming (ECP). Using real-world flight data from six major airports in China’s Greater Bay Area, we find that the SAA model minimizes expected charging costs under typical operating conditions, while the ECP model provides the most resilient performance under worst-case energy demand scenarios. Both outperform the deterministic baseline in terms of cost efficiency and peak load mitigation. Out-of-sample evaluations confirm the ECP model’s consistently superior performance, with up to 5.77% cost savings under high-demand uncertainty. Sensitivity analyses highlight key factors influencing system performance, including maximum turnaround duration, per-aircraft charging power, and energy efficiency per seat. These results underscore the critical role of integrating uncertainty-aware scheduling with airport infrastructure planning and dynamic electricity pricing policies. From a policy perspective, the findings support a differentiated approach to airport electrification. High-throughput hubs with limited operational flexibility require robust scheduling tools and investment in ultra-fast charging systems, while smaller or lower-density airports may adopt lightweight models and serve as testbeds for emerging technologies such as aircraft-to-grid (A2G). Overall, the study provides an evidence-based foundation for policymakers and airport planners to design scalable, cost-effective, and grid-compatible electrification strategies tailored to diverse airport contexts.