Airplane boarding methods that reduce risk from COVID-19. (February 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Milne, R. John; Delcea, Camelia; Cotfas, Liviu-Adrian
• Is Part Of: Safety science. Volume 134(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-02
• Subjects: Airplane boarding -- COVID-19 -- SARS-CoV-2 -- Social distancing -- Agent-based modeling; Industrial accidents -- Periodicals; Accident Prevention -- Periodicals; Safety -- Periodicals; Travail -- Accidents -- Périodiques; 363.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2020.105061
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-7535

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: 6 new methods for airplane boarding considering social distancing are proposed; An agent-based model is created for capturing and simulating the flow of passengers; The new methods are tested against two best performing boarding methods used by the airline companies; All the new methods reduce the level of the health risk from COVID-19; Among the methods, back-to-front by row – WilMA succeed in producing the lowest values for window seat risk; Two other methods succeed in providing fast boarding times, while still providing favorable values for the health metrics. Abstract: Airlines have recently instituted practices to reduce the risk of their passengers becoming infected with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Some airlines block their airplanes' middle seats to preserve social distancing among seated passengers. In this context, we present six new boarding methods and compare their performance with that of the two best boarding methods used to date with social distancing. We evaluate the eight boarding methods using three performance metrics related to passenger health and one operational metric (airplane boarding time) for a one-door airplane. The three health metrics reflect the risks of virus spread by passengers through the air and surfaces (e.g. headrests and seat arms) and consider the amount of aisle social distancing between adjacent boarding passengers walking towards their seats. For an airline that highly values the avoidance of window seat risk, the best method to use is one of the new methods: back-to-front by row – WilMA, though it will result in a longer time to complete boarding of the airplane. Airlines placing greater emphasis on fast boarding times— while still providing favorable values for the health metrics—will be best served by using new methods back-to-front by row – WilMA – offset 2 and – offset 3 when aisle social distancing is 1 m and 2 m respectively.