Analysis of Passenger Flow in Airport Terminal

The successfully designed airport concourse must perform at a level that meets the needs of its passengers, One key element for airport designers and planners to consider is the concourse congestion created as a result of terminal use. One method for assessing concourse performance is to set and attempt to meet an appropriate level of service (LOS) for airport passengers based on congestion. A simulation model is developed to estimate the occupancy of zones within a concourse. A finger-pier concourse with 12 gates along its perimeter and four sets of moving walkways is considered as an example to estimate passenger occupancy in each zone and the resulting percent of time a day the concourse attains LOS B. This research provides insight into how various concourse operation strategies affect when and how passenger congestion forms within the terminal.