Optimizing airplane boarding and disembarking
Many of us have experience flying to different countries. We go to the airport, check in for our flight, drop off our luggage, go through passport control and customs, and wait for our flight.
When boarding is announced, we randomly rush to the plane and look for our seat.
We also spend some time putting our hand luggage into the carry-on compartments, which also takes some time, while other people have to wait until we are done.
In aviation, efficiency is time, and time is money.
Even small delays in passenger aircraft schedules result in lost time for both airlines and their passengers.
For example, I have taken many flights in different countries, and almost everywhere the boarding and disembarking process has been chaotic.
But can these processes be made orderly, and can airports implement some rules based on scientific evidence to optimize these processes and save precious time?
This question became of interest to the 2022 International Mathematical Modeling Challenge, an international contest for school students from different countries.
The objective of this challenge is to encourage the integration of mathematical modeling and practical applications into all levels of education, benefiting students of all backgrounds.
Teams were tasked with developing efficient boarding and disembarking procedures for aircraft that would work effectively in real-world scenarios.
They were also required to create a mathematical model capable of calculating the total time required to board and disembark an aircraft.
This model had to be flexible enough to accommodate different prescribed methods of boarding and disembarking, to account for varying amounts of carry-on baggage, and to address situations where passengers may not follow recommended procedures. In addition, the model should be adaptable for use on different types of passenger aircraft.
Works from three schools from New Zealand, Thailand and the U.S. were selected as outstanding papers.
Kids from these schools proposed different solutions and wrote long papers, which is unusual not only for high school students but also for undergraduates.
Such an experience would definitely give them more confidence for their future work or research projects.
A team from St. Andrew’s College in New Zealand developed two models, one for boarding and one for disembarking.
They adapted the proposed mathematical models to different passenger aircraft, including the flying wing and two-aisle, and applied the most optimal boarding and disembarking methods used on the narrow-body aircraft.
They also considered the impact of reduced passenger aircraft capacity.
The New Zealand team found that for boarding, one of their proposed methods — boarding in the order of window, middle and aisle seats, with the possibility of groups boarding together — was the most optimal method overall among the three aircraft considered.
The optimal disembarkation method was one in which the aircraft was unloaded from the rear of the aircraft to the front.
A team from the Kamnoetvidya Science Academy in Thailand developed models to evaluate different boarding and disembarking procedures.
To measure the time it takes for passengers to board and disembark, their models use a cellular automata algorithm to simulate the entire process.
They showed that, in their opinion, the Steffen (2008) method and the random disembarkation method are the best choices for efficient boarding and disembarkation for narrow-body aircraft.
When it comes to flying wing aircraft and two-aisle aircraft with two entrances, the recommended boarding methods are modified boarding by seat and boarding by seat, respectively.
An American team from Charlotte Country Day School introduced and evaluated several boarding methods, including boarding by seat, reverse pyramid and Steffen’s method.
Their analysis concluded that the reverse pyramid boarding method, which is characterized by its practicality and efficiency, is the recommended choice for real-world use.
In addition, the team extended their proposed models to accommodate different aircraft types, including flying-wing, two-entry and two-entry, two-aisle aircraft, with boarding by seat emerging as the optimal practical approach for both boarding and disembarking in these scenarios.
I am sure that there are many other academic manuscripts devoted to fast boarding or disembarking.
The theories and computer simulations proposed in these academic papers can become a reality if the relevant organizations put them into practice.
Therefore, I hope that optimal boarding and disembarking methods will be considered by major South Korean airports and airlines.
In addition, South Korea is now suffering a population decline, and various international competitions held in South Korea can be used as a tool to attract more talented young people to the country.
Contests alone are a great way to develop national talent.
Why not expand K-wave to include K-contests? I believe that leading South Korean companies such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai and others should also organize more various competitions for schoolchildren and students on a national and international level.
“In aviation, efficiency is time, and time is money. ”