Sector: Aerospace
Lead Organisation: 4colors Limited
Project Partners: Airbus Operation Limited, ORCA Computing Limited, NQCC
Observers: DVN
Aircraft cargo loading presents a computationally demanding optimisation problem involving decisions about what to load, where to stow cargo, and how to satisfy weight, balance, and structural constraints while maximising capacity and meeting tight turnaround schedules. The problem scales exponentially with size, limiting the effectiveness of classical optimisation. In response, 4colors led a consortium with Airbus, ORCA Computing, DNV, and the NQCC to explore hybrid classical–quantum algorithms that accelerate key stages of the optimisation process. The project implemented and tested these algorithms on real quantum hardware (both gate-based and photonic), benchmarked performance against classical baselines, and assessed the pathway toward practical quantum advantage for logistics optimisation.