Investigation of airborne exposure risk to infectious diseases during aircraft boarding process using agent-based modeling

ABSTRACT

The aircraft boarding process is characterized by great movement and close contact between passengers in a confined space, which is a situation of particular concern considering the risk of exposure to airborne infectious diseases such as the COVID-19. In order to evaluate the airborne exposure risk during a commercial aircraft boarding process, an agent-based simulation model approach is adopted in the present work. Since the elderly population is one of the most at risk groups, special features are included in the simulation model in order to evaluate how this group is affected in the process. Three aspects are considered priority boarding (elders boarding order);boarding strategy;and social distancing measures. The main findings are that care must be taken when interpreting average exposure risks, since although the overall risk of exposure is low, there may be cases in which significant risk is presented. © 2022, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.