Waiting time reduction at the gate
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is an innovative airport which likes to exceed passengers’ expectations. At this moment there are several plans to improve the passenger experience. For example an improvement of waiting times. Waiting times and queues are everywhere, also at the airport. Schiphol tries to keep the waiting times as short as possible for the passenger. This SIM research therefore has its focus on a decrease of the waiting at the gate. The SIM assignment involves shortening the waiting time of passengers at the gate. Keep in mind the objective waiting time, but also the perception which is important.
Approach
First it will be examined how the current queues look like. Therefore the number of passengers that arrive per unit of time at the gate (arrival pattern) will be counted. Then it will be investigated how many people left the queue by entering the security process. This gives an overview of how many people are waiting during a certain period of time. This will be translated into flow diagrams / throughput diagrams. Next the factors that affect the behaviour of the passenger will be examinded. In other words, which factors can be influenced regarding arrival behaviour at the gate? Hereby it is important that the ideas are applicable at the airport, because you have to deal with some restrictions and demarcations. The last step is to see how those factors can be implemented at Schiphol. The result is a change in arrival behaviour of the passenger, whereby everyone is on time in the airplane, but with the smallest possible wait time at the gate
Results
The queue problem for flights at gates with decentralized security is caused by passengers arriving prior to and during the start of the security process. These passengers are encouraged by the communicated boarding time on the boarding pass to arrive at the gate by the start of the security process. Therefore the research question is defined as “How can the queue length be decreased by adjusting the boarding time?”
The best possible match between arriving passengers and security capacity creates a reduction of both queue length and waiting time. The controllable group by the boarding time of passengers arriving prior to and during the start of the security process are the cause of the queuing problem. Postponement of the boarding time on the boarding pass could result in a better match between the arrival pattern of these controllable passengers and security capacity. The method applied to determine suitable postponement levels has avoided the risk of security capacity shortages. The research concludes that the boarding times can be postponed without compromising security. This boarding time postponement will result in a better match of arriving passengers with the rated security capacity. The effect of the boarding time postponement on the reduction of both queues and waiting time depends on the start time of security and the number of passengers. The reduction of the queue length and waiting time results in an improved waiting comfort for the passengers at the gates with decentralized security. The increased waiting comfort results in passengers more satisfied with Schiphol and the relevant airline, which results in an improved image for as well AAS as the airline. The results of the study will be looked into for pilot possibilities.
