A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies
To ensure the safety of passengers concerning virus propagation, such as COVID-19, and keep the turnaround time at low levels, airlines should seek efficient aircraft boarding strategies in terms of both physical distancing and boarding times. This study seeks to analyze the impact of different boar...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Mathematics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/20/4288 |
| _version_ | 1797573108396195840 |
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| author | Hélio Moreira Luís P. Ferreira Nuno O. Fernandes Francisco J. G. Silva Ana L. Ramos Paulo Ávila |
| author_facet | Hélio Moreira Luís P. Ferreira Nuno O. Fernandes Francisco J. G. Silva Ana L. Ramos Paulo Ávila |
| author_sort | Hélio Moreira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To ensure the safety of passengers concerning virus propagation, such as COVID-19, and keep the turnaround time at low levels, airlines should seek efficient aircraft boarding strategies in terms of both physical distancing and boarding times. This study seeks to analyze the impact of different boarding strategies in the context of the International Air Transport Association’s recommendations during the pandemic to reduce interference and physical contact between passengers in airplanes. Boarding strategies such as <i>back-to-front</i>, <i>outside-in</i>, <i>reverse pyramid</i>, <i>blocks</i>, <i>Steffen</i>, and <i>modified optimal</i> have been tested in this context. This study extends the previous literature using discrete event simulation to evaluate the impact of the occupation of the middle seat by family members only. This study also analyses the impact of having passengers carrying hand luggage and priority passengers on the performance of these strategies concerning boarding times. In general, the simulation results revealed a 15% improvement in boarding times when the <i>reverse pyramid</i> strategy is used compared to a random strategy, which essentially results from a reduction in the boarding interferences between passengers. The results also show that <i>Steffen’s</i> strategy is the best performing, while the <i>blocks</i> strategy results in the worst performance. This study has practical implications for airline companies concerning both operation efficiency and passenger safety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:04:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af24414a94734557939970f655e1f7f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7390 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:04:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mathematics |
| spelling | doaj.art-af24414a94734557939970f655e1f7f02023-11-19T17:13:52ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902023-10-011120428810.3390/math11204288A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding StrategiesHélio Moreira0Luís P. Ferreira1Nuno O. Fernandes2Francisco J. G. Silva3Ana L. Ramos4Paulo Ávila5School of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, PortugalSchool of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, PortugalDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco, Av. do Empresário, 6000-767 Castelo Branco, PortugalSchool of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, PortugalCompetitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalSchool of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, PortugalTo ensure the safety of passengers concerning virus propagation, such as COVID-19, and keep the turnaround time at low levels, airlines should seek efficient aircraft boarding strategies in terms of both physical distancing and boarding times. This study seeks to analyze the impact of different boarding strategies in the context of the International Air Transport Association’s recommendations during the pandemic to reduce interference and physical contact between passengers in airplanes. Boarding strategies such as <i>back-to-front</i>, <i>outside-in</i>, <i>reverse pyramid</i>, <i>blocks</i>, <i>Steffen</i>, and <i>modified optimal</i> have been tested in this context. This study extends the previous literature using discrete event simulation to evaluate the impact of the occupation of the middle seat by family members only. This study also analyses the impact of having passengers carrying hand luggage and priority passengers on the performance of these strategies concerning boarding times. In general, the simulation results revealed a 15% improvement in boarding times when the <i>reverse pyramid</i> strategy is used compared to a random strategy, which essentially results from a reduction in the boarding interferences between passengers. The results also show that <i>Steffen’s</i> strategy is the best performing, while the <i>blocks</i> strategy results in the worst performance. This study has practical implications for airline companies concerning both operation efficiency and passenger safety.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/20/4288COVID-19 pandemicboarding strategiesdiscrete-event simulation |
| spellingShingle | Hélio Moreira Luís P. Ferreira Nuno O. Fernandes Francisco J. G. Silva Ana L. Ramos Paulo Ávila A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies Mathematics COVID-19 pandemic boarding strategies discrete-event simulation |
| title | A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies |
| title_full | A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies |
| title_fullStr | A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies |
| title_short | A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies |
| title_sort | simulation study of aircraft boarding strategies |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic boarding strategies discrete-event simulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/20/4288 |
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