Optimization of aircraft boarding processes considering passengers’ grouping characteristics

Abstract

A ircraft boarding is one of the critical process es affecting the turnaround time whe n a plane is at an airport. In this work , the aircraft boarding problem is studied with the aim of designing a boarding strategy that reduces the total boarding time considering the passenger s’ behavior as well as the underlying grouping relationships amon g them. Our analysis suggest s that some of the strategies proposed in other studies are highly theoretical and do not consider the individual characteristics of the passengers or the ir grouping inside the plane . This limits their applicability and validity in real operations. We propose a novel boarding strategy that is designed to reduce the total boarding time while, at the same time, aims at guaranteeing an acceptable quality of service.