A Simulation Study of Aircraft Boarding Strategies

Hélio Moreira, Luís P. Ferreira (), Nuno O. Fernandes, Francisco J. G. Silva, Ana L. Ramos and Paulo Ávila
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Hélio Moreira: School of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
Luís P. Ferreira: School of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
Nuno O. Fernandes: Department of Industrial Engineering, Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco, Av. do Empresário, 6000-767 Castelo Branco, Portugal
Francisco J. G. Silva: School of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
Ana L. Ramos: Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Paulo Ávila: School of Engineering, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal

Mathematics, 2023, vol. 11, issue 20, 1-13

Abstract: 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 back-to-front , outside-in , reverse pyramid , blocks , Steffen , and modified optimal 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 reverse pyramid 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 Steffen’s strategy is the best performing, while the blocks strategy results in the worst performance. This study has practical implications for airline companies concerning both operation efficiency and passenger safety.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; boarding strategies; discrete-event simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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