Weeks
"If I ignore all real-world constraints and all the regulatory burdens, it's TRIVIAL. Why can't they figure this out when I could solve it in an internet comment?"
He's ignorant and naive and disrespectful of the workers involved.
It's simple to say, "oh it would be this easy..." and not consider a single real life scenario.
> problem could be simplified to getting every plain and every crew home to where they would spend the night under a normal schedule
This alone would take days under your own recommendation.