The reasons for the difference of ground holding cost of the delayed flights were analyzed in this paper. Combined with the practical operation of flight, the ground holding cost model was proposed on the condition of different power supply mode and different waiting environment for passengers. Taking the commonly used aircraft Airbus 320 and Boeing 747 for example, both Auxiliary Power Unit and Gallery Bridge Equipment can supply the aircraft with power and air, and the relationship between delay cost and time which was caused by different usage of power and air supply was discussed, as well as the trends and causes of the cost ratio variation with time. The difference cost for passengers waiting in the terminal building and cabin was analyzed, and the cost optimization problem for different aircraft when using Gallery Bridge Equipment is presented in this paper. According to the simulation result, it shows that Gallery Bridge Equipment is more economic than APU for power and air supply of the delayed flights, and can effectively put off the passengers’ unload time to reduce the ground holding cost. To reasonable arrange the passengers’ waiting environment and choose economic gallery bridge equipment is of vital importance for optimizing the ground holding cost of delayed flight.
