Future aircraft turnaround operations considering post-pandemic requirements.
J Air Transp Manag
; 89: 101886, 2020 Oct.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-799833
ABSTRACT
Air Transportation is a major contributor to international mobility and has high requirements to ensure safe and secure operations. Aircraft ground operations are impacted significantly by the current pandemic situation so that standard operating procedures need a redesign to incorporate the upcoming sanitation requirements. In particular, the passenger boarding process is challenged with requirements for physical distances between passengers, while in addition to standard cleaning, the cabin has to be disinfected after each flight. We evaluate potential alterations of these two aircraft cabin processes with respect to a pre-pandemic reference aircraft turnaround. The implementation of microscopic approaches allows to consider individual interactions and a step-wise process adaptation aiming for an efficient operational design. We find a significant extension of boarding times (more than doubled) if the physical distance rule is applied. The new disinfection process further extends the critical path of the turnaround, so we see a high impact on airport and airline operations. To compensate for the increased workload and process times, we provide an integrated cleaning and disinfection procedure with additional personnel. Our results indicate that the pre-pandemic turnaround times cannot be maintained for the same seat load, even if the process adaptations are being implemented. However, a seat allocation scheme with empty middle-seats (seat load of 67%) and the use of an apron position (additional use of rear aircraft door for boarding) enable pre-pandemic turnaround times without additional cleaning personnel. Aircraft turnarounds at terminal positions require between 10% (with additional personnel) and 20% (without additional personnel) more ground time.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Language:
English
Journal:
J Air Transp Manag
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.jairtraman.2020.101886
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