case study of Terminal 1 of Lisbon's Airport

105 Pages·2015·2.09 MB·English

by  Manuel Félix

Micro-simulation of check-in operations: case study of
Terminal 1 of Lisbon's Airport

Manuel Maria Santos Dias Duarte Félix

Dissertation to obtain the Master of Science Degree in
Civil Engineering

Supervisor: Doctor Vasco Domingos Moreira Lopes Miranda dos Reis

Examination Committee
Presidente: Professor João Torres de Quinhones Levy
Supervisor: Doctor Vasco Domingos Moreira Lopes Miranda dos Reis
Member of the Committee: Professor Maria do Rosário Maurício Ribeiro Macário

October 2015

Micro-simulation of check-in operations: case study of Terminal 1 of Lisbon’s Airport
ACKNOWLEGMENTS
With the conclusion of the present thesis and my studies for the Master’s degree at hand,
I can only think that a single page is not enough to express my gratitude to everyone who helped
me in this adventure.
At first, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Supervisor Dr. Vasco Domingos
Moreira Lopes Miranda dos Reis, for all the support given in the course of the present dissertation,
for his insightful comments and encouragement and for the hard question which incented me to
widen my research from various perspectives.
Second, I want to convey my warmest and sincere thanks to Eng. Duarte Amorim da
Cunha and Eng. Liliana Magalhães, without whom this dissertation would not see the daylight,
for their continuous support, motivation, immense knowledge and specially, patience, which they
had a lot to put up with me during the creation of the dissertation.
A person that must not be forgotten is Dr. Ruas Alves, board advisor for ANA Aeroportos
de Portugal, whom with his knowledge gave valuable assets and insights for the creation of the
model and its validation.
I am hugely indebted to my friend Eng. Luis Navarro for his help in the completion of the
simulation model could not have arrived in a better time.
I would like to thank the support team of AnyLogic Company for their precious on time
help in the development of the model.
Last but definitely not least, I could not finish the acknowledgments of my dissertation
without thanking my parents and sisters who were always there for me, supporting me,
encouraging me and cheering me up; to my friends, especially João Pacheco, João Reis & Pedro
Barroca, for all the support, motivation and for helping me wind down when I most needed to; and
a special thanks to my girlfriend Ana Fonseca, for all her patience and for staying by my side
every day during this long journey.
Thank you all!

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ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
Being considered a delicate matter for involving millions of human beings every single
day, air transportation had to adopt different security processes and sub-processes with different
standards to assure their safety. For involving a lot of money, time and stress, the best
performance from these processes and sub-processes is expected. However, with the continuous
growth of the demand, this performance can only be achieved with a constant search for
improvements. The study of a scenarios such as an airport terminal, cannot be made in situ and
to that end, a representation is of the reality is the best option.
With the current developments in modern technology the veracity and truthfulness that
could be achieved from the representation of a real case scenarios increased exponentially,
especially with the possibility to include meticulous restrictions and details, being able to obtain
the best possible data information.
The model developed simulates the movement of passengers in the terminal from the
time they enter until they reach the security area, with a special focus on the check-in sub-
process. The model has the capability to identify the main problems behind the check-in sub-
process and produce indicators to prove them. Being applied to Lisbon’s Airport Terminal 1, the
results of the model suggested that an incentive should be made for the passengers to perform
the check-in via self-service check-in methods, outside the terminal building, alongside with an
increased focus for the baggage drop facilities.

KEY-WORDS
 Airport operations
 Check-in
 Lisbon airport
 Queue time reduction
 Simulation
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Micro-simulation of check-in operations: case study of Terminal 1 of Lisbon’s Airport
RESUMO
Por ser considerado um assunto delicado por envolver a cada dia milhões de pessoas,
diferentes processos e sub-processos com diferentes padrões de segurança foram incorporados
no transporte aéreo. Ao mesmo tempo, é esperado o melhor desempenho possível destes
processos e sub-processos, por envolverem um grande volume de dinheiro, tempo e stress.
Contudo, devido ao contínuo crescimento do lado da procura neste sector, tal desempenho só
poderá ser atingido caso exista uma constante pesquisa por melhorias. É de notar que o estudo
de cenários para um terminal de aeroporto não pode ser efetuado in situ e para tal, recorre-se
ao uso de representações dessa realidade.
Devido aos atuais desenvolvimentos tecnológicos, a veracidade que se consegue extraír
de uma representação da realidade, tem aumentado exponencialmente, principalmente através
da possibilidade de incorporar detalhes e restrições meticulosas que permitem obter a melhor
informação possível.
O modelo desenvolvido simula o tráfego de passageiros no terminal desde que entram
até ao momento em que passam para a área de controlo de segurança, tendo um enfoque
especial sobre o sub-processo de check-in. Este tem a capacidade de identificar os principais
problemas que se encontram por detrás do sub-processo em causa, produzindo indicadores que
sustentam tal afirmação. Sendo aplicado ao Terminal 1 do aeroporto de Lisboa, os resultados
obtidos sugerem que se deve incentivar os passageiros a efetuar o check-in antes de se
deslocarem ao aeroporto, através de métodos de self-service check-in e que tal incentivo deve
ser acompanhado por uma melhoria nos serviços de baggage drop.

PALAVRAS CHAVE
 Operações aeroportuárias
 Check-in
 Aeroporto de Lisboa
 Redução de tempos de espera
 Simulação

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEGMENTS .................................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii
KEY-WORDS ................................................................................................................................ ii
RESUMO ....................................................................................................................................... iii
PALAVRAS CHAVE ...................................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv
TABLE OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... vi
TABLE OF Tables ........................................................................................................................ vii
ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................ viii
Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1
1.1 – Motivation ................................................................................................................ 1
1.2 – Thesis objectives ..................................................................................................... 1
1.3 – Methodological approach ........................................................................................ 2
1.4 – Dissertation Structure .............................................................................................. 2
Chapter 2 – COMPONENTS AND ACTIVITIES OF AN AIRPORT .............................................. 5
2.1 – Components of an Airport ........................................................................................ 5
2.2 – Characterization of Airport’s Typical Activities ........................................................ 8
2.2.1 – Aeronautical Activities ................................................................................... 8
2.2.2 – Non-Aeronautical Activities ........................................................................... 8
2.3 – Terminal ................................................................................................................... 9
2.3.1 Passengers Departure ................................................................................... 10
2.3.2 Passengers Arrival ......................................................................................... 13
2.4 – Users of the Airport ................................................................................................ 15
2.5 – The Check-in: what it is and what it involves, technology used, regulations and
organization ................................................................................................................................. 17
2.5.1 Concept and definitions ................................................................................. 17
2.5.2 Types of check-in ........................................................................................... 18
2.5.3 – Passenger’s steps for each check-in type .................................................. 21
2.6 – Quality of service and perform indicators of the Check-in and Terminal ............... 23
Chapter 3 – SIMULATION IN AIRPORTS ................................................................................... 27
3.1 – Methods and models used for the simulation ........................................................ 27
3.1.1 – Simulation ................................................................................................... 27
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Micro-simulation of check-in operations: case study of Terminal 1 of Lisbon’s Airport
3.1.2 – Queueing Theory ........................................................................................ 30
3.1.3 – Mathematical and Integer Programming problems .................................... 32
3.1.4 – Survey Analysis .......................................................................................... 33
3.2 Important remarks .................................................................................................... 34
Chapter 4 – CASE STUDY ......................................................................................................... 37
4.1 – Lisbon’s Airport Terminal 1 .................................................................................... 37
4.1.1 – Facilities ...................................................................................................... 37
4.1.2 – Check-in Facilities....................................................................................... 38
4.1.3 – Passengers ................................................................................................. 40
4.2 – Anylogic Interface .................................................................................................. 40
Chapter 5 – METHODOLOGY: DISCRETE-EVENT SIMULATION ........................................... 43
5.1 – Justification of Methodology choices ..................................................................... 43
5.2 –Model Description ................................................................................................... 45
5.2.1 – Objectives ................................................................................................... 45
5.2.2 – Model Structure .......................................................................................... 46
5.2.3 - Agents ......................................................................................................... 57
5.2.4 - Range of view of the Simulation .................................................................. 58
5.2.5 – Verification and Validation of the model ..................................................... 59
5.2.6 - Proposal of an intervention to increase the level of service of the check-in
sub-process ......................................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 6 – CASE STUDY RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................ 67
6.1 – Base case Scenario .............................................................................................. 67
6.2 –Scenario 1 .............................................................................................................. 68
6.3 –Scenario 2 .............................................................................................................. 68
6.4 –Scenario 3 .............................................................................................................. 69
6.5 – Discussion of the results obtained ........................................................................ 69
Chapter 7 – CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 73
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................... 77
Appendix 1 – Model..................................................................................................................... 81
Appendix 2 – Base case Scenario .............................................................................................. 86
Appendix 3 –Scenario 1 .............................................................................................................. 89
Appendix 4 –Scenario 2 .............................................................................................................. 92
Appendix 5 –Scenario 3 .............................................................................................................. 94

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TABLE OF FIGURES
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1 – Schematic presentation of an airport ........................................................................... 7
Figure 2 - Turn around process from the aircraft point of view ..................................................... 8
Figure 3 – Configurations of passenger’s buildings and aprons ................................................... 9
Figure 4 - Processes of a passengers’ terminal .......................................................................... 11
Figure 5 - Different types of traditional check-in and baggage drop facilities. (Horonjeff, McKelvey,
Sproule, & Young, 1994) ............................................................................................................. 19
Figure 6 – Main elements of terminal building............................................................................. 39
Figure 7 – AnyLogic working environment .................................................................................. 41
Figure 8 – Model’s Logic part representation .............................................................................. 41
Figure 9 – Model’s storing of variables and parameters representation ..................................... 42
Figure 10 - Model’s graphical part representation ....................................................................... 42
Figure 11 – Model’s Statistical part representation ..................................................................... 42
Figure 12 – System Dynamics representation ............................................................................ 43
Figure 13 – Discrete Event representation .................................................................................. 44
Figure 14 – Agent Based representation ..................................................................................... 44
Figure 15 - Interpretation of the check-in model ......................................................................... 46
Figure 16 – Passenger Generation in the model......................................................................... 46
Figure 17 – Choosing of the entrance ......................................................................................... 47
Figure 18 – Entrance of passengers in the airport ...................................................................... 47
Figure 19 – Steps for passenger to be served by a check-in agent ............................................ 48
Figure 20 – Final part of the model ............................................................................................. 48
Figure 21 – Detailed interpretation of check-in model ................................................................. 49
Figure 22 – Passenger’s total traffic in the airport ....................................................................... 51
Figure 23 - Interpretation of the check-in model ......................................................................... 51
Figure 24 – Passenger arrival intensity intervals ........................................................................ 53
Figure 25 - Check-in Economic Counters model interpretation .................................................. 54
Figure 26 - Check-in Kiosk model interpretation ......................................................................... 54
Figure 27 – Graphical representation of one of the entrance areas. All entrance areas are
represented in sub-chapter 5.2.2 ................................................................................................ 58
Figure 28 – Graphical representation of counters and kiosks ..................................................... 59
Figure 29 – Graphical representation of the exit area ................................................................. 59
Figure 30 - Base Case Scenario Terminal model blueprint ........................................................ 81

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Micro-simulation of check-in operations: case study of Terminal 1 of Lisbon’s Airport
TABLE OF Tables
Table 1 – Agreements between countries................................................................................... 13
Table 2 – Passenger’s Characteristics ........................................................................................ 16
Table 3 - Level of service framework .......................................................................................... 24
Table 4 – LOS – space to be provided for passengers in different activities .............................. 24
Table 5 - LOS – maximum occupancy rate in holding and waiting areas ................................... 24
Table 6 - Level of service – Processing Facilities ....................................................................... 25
Table 7 - Level of service – Check-in Queue area LOS Standards ............................................ 25
Table 8 - Level of service – Check-in Queue area LOS Standards ............................................ 26
Table 9 – Advantages and Disadvantages between Queueing Theory and Simulation ............. 32
Table 10 – Fixed counters existent in Terminal 1 ....................................................................... 38
Table 11 – Total number of flights and passengers by airline .................................................... 50
Table 12 – Percentage of passengers, entering the airport, for each entrance ......................... 53
Table 13 – Services in a kiosks for by company ......................................................................... 55
Table 14 - Number of baggage drop added, by cluster of companies ........................................ 64
Table 15 – Discussion of different scenarios .............................................................................. 71
Table 16 - Daily Schedule of the 07 August 2015 in Lisbon's Terminal 1 .................................. 85
Table 17 – Queue time for economic check-in counters ............................................................. 86
Table 18 – Queue time for business check-in counters .............................................................. 86
Table 19 – Queue time for baggage drop counters .................................................................... 87
Table 20 – Queue time for check-in kiosks ................................................................................. 87
Table 21 – Service utilisation for each service ............................................................................ 88
Table 22 – Queue time for economic check-in counters ............................................................. 89
Table 23- Queue time for business check-in counters ................................................................ 89
Table 24 – Queue time for baggage drop counters .................................................................... 90
Table 25 – Queue time for check-in kiosks ................................................................................. 90
Table 26 – Service utilisation for each service ............................................................................ 91
Table 27 – Queue time for economic check-in counters ............................................................. 92
Table 28 – Queue time for baggage drop counters .................................................................... 92
Table 29 – Service Utilisation over the time each service is opened .......................................... 93
Table 30 – Queue time for economic check-in counters ............................................................. 94
Table 31 – Queue time Baggage Drop counters ........................................................................ 94
Table 32 – Service Utilisation over time each service was opened ............................................ 95

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ACRONYMS
ACRONYMS
CUCC – Common Use Check-in Counters
CUCCAP-VC – Common Use Check-in Counter Assignment Problem with variable number of
counters
CUSS – Common-use Self-Service Check-in
DUCC – Dedicated Use Check-in Counters
IATA – International Air Transport Association
IRSS – Intelligent Resource Simulation System
LOS – Level of Service
SLA – Service Level Agreements
ATB – Automated Ticket and Boarding
LCC – low cost carriers
RFID – Radio Frequency Identification Devices
IBS – Immigration and Boarder Service
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