Centre of Applied Research Technology

COVID-19-related challenges for new normality in airport terminal operations

Paper

Airport operations are undergoing significant change, having to meet pandemic requirements in addition to intrinsic security requirements. Although air traffic has declined massively, airports are still the critical hubs of the air transport network. The new restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic pose new challenges for airport operators in redesigning airport terminals and managing passenger flows. To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, we implement a reference airport environment.

In this Airport in the Lab environment we will demonstrate the operational consequences derived from the new operational requirements. In addition, countermeasures to mitigate any negative impacts of these changes are tested. The results highlight emerging issues that the airport will most likely face and possible solutions. Finally, we could apply the findings and lessons learned from our testing at our reference airport to a real airport.

Reference Schultz, M., Luo, M., Lubig, D., Mujica Mota, M., & Scala, P. (2021). COVID-19-related challenges for new normality in airport terminal operations. Paper presented at Winter Simulation Conference 2021, Phoenix, Arizona, United States.
1 January 2021

Publication date

Jan 2021

Author(s)

Michael Schultz
Mingchuan Luo
Daniel Lubig
Paolo Scala

Research database