A combined optimization-simulation approach for modified outside-in boarding under COVID-19 regulations including limited baggage compartment capacities.

The timely handling of passengers is critical to efficient airport and airline operations. The pandemic requirements mandate adapted process designs and handling procedures to maintain and improve operational performance. Passenger activities in the confined aircraft cabin must be evaluated for potential virus transmission, and boarding procedures should be designed to minimize the negative impact on passengers and operations.

Analytical approach to solve the problem of aircraft passenger boarding during the coronavirus pandemic.

The corona pandemic significantly changes the processes of aircraft and passenger handling at the airport. In our contribution, we focus on the time-critical process of aircraft boarding, where regulations regarding physical distances between passengers will significantly increase boarding time. The passenger behavior is implemented in a field-validated stochastic cellular automata model, which is extended by a module to evaluate the transmission risk.