What is Unit Load Device (ULD)

The chapter represents an overview of different approaches towards loading process and load planning. The algorithm and specificities of the current cargo loading process force the scientists to search for new methods of optimizing due to the time, weight, and size constraints of the cargo aircraft and consequently to cut the costs for aircraft load planning and handling procedures. These methods are based on different approaches: mix-integer linear programs, three-dimensional bin packing, knapsack loading algorithms, tabu-search approach, rule-based approach, and heuristics. The perspective direction of aircraft loading process improvement is a combination of multicriteria optimization method and heuristic approach using the expert system.