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Mutascu M, Sokic A. Air transportation under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions: A wavelet analysis. TRANSPORT POLICY 2023; 139:155-181. [PMID: 37363083 PMCID: PMC10280015 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2023.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mihai Mutascu
- Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Am Seemooser Horn 20, 88045, Friedrichshafen, Germany
- Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara 16, H. Pestalozzi St., 300115, Timisoara, Romania
- LEO (Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orléans), Faculté de Droit d'Economie et de Gestion, University of Orléans, Rue de Blois, B.P. 6739 - 45067, Orléans, France
| | - Alexandre Sokic
- ESCE International Business School, OMNES Education, Immeuble Cœur Défense, 82 Esplanade du Général de Gaulle, 92934 Paris La Défense, France
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2
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Mothershead JL, Dembek ZF, Hadeed SJ, Schwartz-Watjen KT, Broadway KM, Tigabu B, Woodards AJ, Owens AN, Chekol T, Wu A. A Universal Travel Risk Assessment Questionnaire: Travel Assessment During COVID-19 Pandemic and Endemicity. Mil Med 2023; 188:e2606-e2614. [PMID: 36065513 DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usac261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Throughout the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, military commanders have been challenged with providing appropriate travel guidance for their military and civilian personnel and dependents. This guidance, where promulgated, lacks uniformity. Travel aids and computer applications similarly differ and are not updated as often as jurisdictional travel health guidance is changed. Given the ever-evolving Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants with differing degrees of infectivity, COVID-19 travel guidance will remain relevant for military travelers during the transition from pandemic to endemic phases and for the foreseeable future. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed all germane travel guidance promulgated by the U.S, Department of Defense; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and other federal, state, and international agencies. From these materials, we identified and delineated applicable universal components for COVID-19 travel risk and created a universal Travel Risk Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ). RESULTS We present a universal TRAQ that identifies and allows for a graded most-appropriate response to known travel risk assessment factors including travel restrictions, travel mode, travel time, travel party size, trip duration, COVID-19 incidence rate at travel destination, lodging, planned activities, personal interaction level, vaccination coverage at destination, travel location, traveler's vaccination status, previous COVID-19 infection, mask wear compliance, mask type, and work environment, along with additional considerations and post-travel COVID-19 questions. We provide examples of the use of this questionnaire that describe low, medium, and high risk to the traveler for contracting COVID-19. CONCLUSION Our TRAQ provides an easy-to-use format that can enable military, business, or personal travelers to more completely assess their likelihood of COVID-19 exposure and help them to reduce their potential for contracting COVID-19 during travel and subsequently transmitting it to others upon return. It should help commanders and traveling personnel to better assess COVID-19 travel risks through application of known travel risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerry L Mothershead
- Applied Research Associates (ARA), Support to DTRA Technical Reachback, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA
| | - Zygmunt F Dembek
- Battelle Memorial Institute, Support to DTRA Technical Reachback, Columbus, OH 43201, USA
- Guarantor
| | - Steven J Hadeed
- Battelle Memorial Institute, Support to DTRA Technical Reachback, Columbus, OH 43201, USA
| | | | - Katherine M Broadway
- Defense Sciences, Inc. (DSI), Support to DTRA Technical Reachback, San Antonio, TX 78230, USA
| | - Bersabeh Tigabu
- Global Systems Engineering, Support to DTRA Technical Reachback, Alexandria, VA 22312, USA
| | - Ashley J Woodards
- Battelle Memorial Institute, Support to DTRA Technical Reachback, Columbus, OH 43201, USA
| | - Akeisha N Owens
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Fort Belvoir, VA 22060, USA
| | - Tesema Chekol
- Battelle Memorial Institute, Support to DTRA Technical Reachback, Columbus, OH 43201, USA
| | - Aiguo Wu
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Fort Belvoir, VA 22060, USA
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3
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Schultz M, Soolaki M, Salari M, Bakhshian E. A combined optimization-simulation approach for modified outside-in boarding under COVID-19 regulations including limited baggage compartment capacities. JOURNAL OF AIR TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT 2023; 106:102258. [PMID: 35892062 PMCID: PMC9304472 DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2022.102258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The timely handling of passengers is critical to efficient airport and airline operations. The pandemic requirements mandate adapted process designs and handling procedures to maintain and improve operational performance. Passenger activities in the confined aircraft cabin must be evaluated for potential virus transmission, and boarding procedures should be designed to minimize the negative impact on passengers and operations. In our approach, we generate an optimized seat allocation that considers passengers' physical activities when they store their hand luggage items in the overhead compartment. We proposed a mixed-integer programming formulation including the concept of shedding rates to determine and minimize the risk of virus transmission by solving the NP-hard seat assignment problem. We are improving the already efficient outside-in boarding, where passengers in the window seat board first and passengers in the aisle seat board last, taking into account COVID-19 regulations and the limited capacity of overhead compartments. To demonstrate and evaluate the improvements achieved in aircraft boarding, a stochastic agent-based model is used in which three operational scenarios with seat occupancy of 50%, 66%, and 80% are implemented. With our optimization approach, the average boarding time and the transmission risk are significantly reduced already for the general case, i.e., when no specific boarding order is specified (random boarding). If the already efficient outside-in boarding is used as a reference, the boarding time can be reduced by more than 30% by applying our approach, while keeping the transmission risk at the lowest level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Schultz
- Institute of Flight Systems, Bundeswehr University Munich, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
| | - Majid Soolaki
- School of Architecture and Cities, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mostafa Salari
- College of Engineering and Mines, Department of Civil Engineering, University of North Dakota, United States of America
| | - Elnaz Bakhshian
- School of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland
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4
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Haque MT, Hamid F. Social distancing and revenue management-A post-pandemic adaptation for railways. OMEGA 2023; 114:102737. [PMID: 35992227 PMCID: PMC9375294 DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2022.102737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had a significant impact on rail operations worldwide. Adopting control measures such as a 50% occupancy rate can contribute to a safer travel environment, though at the expense of operational efficiency. This paper addresses the issues of social distancing and revenue maximization for a train operating company in a post-pandemic world. Although the two objectives appear to be highly contradictory, we believe that judicious planning can optimize both to a great extent. Existing research on social distancing on public transport has only considered the risk of virus transmission during travel. This is the first attempt to recognize the risk of virus spread in different cities along with transmission risk as part of developing a social distancing plan. We study the problem of assigning seats to passenger groups on long-distance trains while ensuring social distancing within coaches. A novel seating assignment policy is proposed that takes into account several factors that govern the spread of virus. In an effort to reduce the spread of the virus and improve revenue simultaneously, a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model is proposed to assign seats to passengers. Several families of valid inequalities and preprocessing steps are proposed to strengthen the MIP formulation, which represents a substantial contribution to the literature on group seat assignment problem. The validity of the model and the effectiveness of the valid inequalities have been evaluated using real-life data from Indian Railways. The computational results demonstrate a significant reduction in the risk of contagion and an increase in seat utilization compared to the current approach employed by operators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Tabish Haque
- Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Faiz Hamid
- Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
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5
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Haque MT, Hamid F. An optimization model to assign seats in long distance trains to minimize SARS-CoV-2 diffusion. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH. PART A, POLICY AND PRACTICE 2022; 162:104-120. [PMID: 35665304 PMCID: PMC9135675 DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2022.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The unprecedented spread of SARS-CoV-2 has pushed governmental bodies to undertake stringent actions like travel regulations, localized curfews, curb activity participation, etc. These restrictions assisted in controlling the proliferation of the virus; however, they severely affected major economies. This compels policymakers and planners to devise strategies that restrain virus spread as well as operationalize economic activities. In this context, we discuss some of the potential implications of seat inventory management in long-distance passenger trains and create a balance between operators' operational efficiency and passengers' safety. The paper introduces a novel seat assignment policy that aims to mitigate virus diffusion risk among passengers by reducing interaction among them. A mixed-integer linear programming problem has been formulated that concomitantly maximizes the operator's revenue and minimizes virus diffusion. The validity of the model has been tested using real-life data obtained from Indian Railways. The computational results show that a mere 50% capacity utilization may distress operators' economics and prove ineffectual in controlling SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The proposed model produces encouraging results in restricting virus diffusion and improving revenue even under 100% capacity utilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Tabish Haque
- Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Faiz Hamid
- Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
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6
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Milne RJ, Cotfas LA, Delcea C, Crăciun L, Molănescu AG. Health risks of airplane boarding methods with apron buses when some passengers disregard safe social distancing. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271544. [PMID: 35913941 PMCID: PMC9342771 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Many airlines instituted social distancing practices to keep passengers safe during the pandemic. The practices include keeping the middle seats empty, reducing the number of passengers taking an apron bus from the terminal to the airplane, and prescribing that passengers maintain 1 m social distance of separation from other passengers in the aisle while advancing to their seats. However, not all passengers comply with a prescribed 1 m aisle social distance. Through agent-based simulations of passenger boarding when apron buses are used, we examine boarding policies adapted for the pandemic when the level of passenger compliance varies. To compare policies, we consider the duration of time that passengers are too close to other passengers while walking or standing in the aisle. We consider other health metrics from previous research and the time to complete boarding of the airplane. We find that the WilMA–Spread and Reverse-pyramid–Spread boarding methods provide favorable outcomes. Airlines should use WilMA–Spread if their primary concern is the risk to passengers while walking down the aisle and Reverse-pyramid–Spread if they want faster times to complete boarding of the airplane and reduced risk to aisle seat passengers from later boarding passengers. The level of the passengers’ non-compliance with the prescribed aisle social distance can impact a health metric by up to 6.75%—depending on the boarding method and metric. However, non-compliance reduces the time to complete boarding of the airplane by up to 38.8% even though it increases the average time an individual passenger spends boarding.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. John Milne
- David D. Reh School of Business, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, United States of America
| | - Liviu-Adrian Cotfas
- Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Camelia Delcea
- Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
- * E-mail:
| | - Liliana Crăciun
- Department of Economics and Economic Policies, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Anca Gabriela Molănescu
- Department of Economics and Economic Policies, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
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7
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Evaluating Classical Airplane Boarding Methods for Passenger Health during Normal Times. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/app12073235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced changes in the entire aviation industry, including adjustments by airlines to keep the middle seats of airplanes empty to reduce the risk of disease spread. In this context, the scientific literature has introduced new metrics related to passengers’ health when comparing airplane boarding methods in addition to the previous objective of minimizing boarding time. As the pandemic concludes and the aviation industry returns to the pre-pandemic situation, we leverage what we learned during the pandemic to reduce the health risk to passengers when they are not social distancing. In this paper, we examine the performance of classical airplane boarding methods in normal times but while considering the health metrics established during the pandemic and new metrics related to passenger health in the absence of social distancing. In addition to being helpful in normal times, the analysis may be particularly helpful in situations when people think everything is normal but an epidemic has begun prior to being acknowledged by the medical scientific community. The reverse pyramid boarding method provides favorable values for most health metrics in this context while also minimizing the time to complete boarding of the airplane.
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8
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Sun X, Wandelt S, Zheng C, Zhang A. COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Successfully navigating the paper hurricane. JOURNAL OF AIR TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT 2021; 94:102062. [PMID: 33875908 PMCID: PMC8045456 DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2021.102062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
This paper aims to analyze and understand the impact of the corona virus disease (COVID-19) on aviation and also the role aviation played in the spread of COVID-19, by reviewing the recent scientific literature. We have collected 110 papers on the subject published in the year 2020 and grouped them according to their major application domain, leading to the following categories: Analysis of the global air transportation system during COVID-19, the impacts on the passenger-centric flight experience, and the long-term impacts on broad aviation. Based on the aggregated reported findings in the literature, this paper concludes with a set of recommendations for future scientific directions; hopefully helping aviation to prepare for a post-COVID-19 world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqian Sun
- National Key Laboratory of CNS/ATM, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China
- National Engineering Laboratory of Multi-Modal Transportation Big Data, 100191, Beijing, China
| | - Sebastian Wandelt
- National Key Laboratory of CNS/ATM, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China
- National Engineering Laboratory of Multi-Modal Transportation Big Data, 100191, Beijing, China
| | - Changhong Zheng
- National Key Laboratory of CNS/ATM, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China
| | - Anming Zhang
- Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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9
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An Investigation of Social Distancing and Quantity of Luggage Impacts on the Three Groups Reverse Pyramid Boarding Method. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13040544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The social distancing imposed by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has affected people’s everyday lives and has resulted in companies changing the way they conduct business. The airline industry has been continually adapting since the novel coronavirus appeared. A series of airlines have changed their airplane boarding and passenger seat allocation process to increase their passengers’ safety. Many suggest a minimum social distance among passengers in the aisle while boarding. Some airlines have reduced their airplanes’ capacities by keeping the middle seats empty. Recent literature indicates that the Reverse Pyramid boarding method provides favorable values for boarding time and passenger health metrics when compared to other boarding methods. This paper analyses the extent to which aisle social distancing, the quantity of carry-on luggage, and an airline’s relative preferences for different performance metrics influence the optimal number of passengers to board the airplane in each of three boarding groups when the Reverse Pyramid method is used and the middle seats are empty. We also investigate the resulting impact on the average boarding time and health risks to boarding passengers. We use an agent-based model and stochastic simulation approach to evaluate various levels of aisle social distancing among passengers and the quantity of luggage carried aboard the airplane. When minimizing boarding time is the primary objective of an airline, for a given value of aisle social distance, decreasing the carry-on luggage volumes increases the optimal number of boarding group 1 passengers and decreases the optimal number of group 2 passengers with aisle seats; for a given volume of luggage, an increase in aisle social distance is associated with more passengers in group 1 and more aisle seat passengers in group 2. When minimizing the health risk to aisle seat passengers or to window seat passengers, the optimal solution results from assigning an equal number of window seat passengers to groups 1 and 2 and an equal number of aisle seat passengers to groups 2 and 3. This solution is robust to changes in luggage volume and the magnitude of aisle social distance. Furthermore, across all luggage and aisle social distancing scenarios, the solution reduces the health risk to aisle seat passengers between 22.76% and 35.31% while increasing average boarding time by less than 3% in each scenario.
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10
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Schultz M, Soolaki M. Analytical approach to solve the problem of aircraft passenger boarding during the coronavirus pandemic. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH. PART C, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES 2021; 124:102931. [PMID: 33519129 PMCID: PMC7834413 DOI: 10.1016/j.trc.2020.102931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The corona pandemic significantly changes the processes of aircraft and passenger handling at the airport. In our contribution, we focus on the time-critical process of aircraft boarding, where regulations regarding physical distances between passengers will significantly increase boarding time. The passenger behavior is implemented in a field-validated stochastic cellular automata model, which is extended by a module to evaluate the transmission risk. We propose an improved boarding process by considering that most of the passengers are travel together and should be boarded and seated as a group. The NP-hard seat allocation of groups with minimized individual interactions between groups is solved with a genetic algorithm. Then, the improved seat allocation is used to derive an associated boarding sequence aiming at both short boarding times and low risk of virus transmission. Our results show that the consideration of groups will significantly contribute to a faster boarding (reduction of time by about 60%) and less transmission risk (reduced by 85%) compared to the standard random boarding procedures applied in the pandemic scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Schultz
- Institute of Logistics and Aviation, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
| | - Majid Soolaki
- School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland
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11
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Khatib AN, Carvalho AM, Primavesi R, To K, Poirier V. Navigating the risks of flying during COVID-19: a review for safe air travel. J Travel Med 2020; 27:5976283. [PMID: 33184655 PMCID: PMC7717328 DOI: 10.1093/jtm/taaa212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE FOR REVIEW With air travel restarting, there has been much discourse about the safety of flying during the pandemic. In travel medicine, risk assessment includes estimating baseline risk to the traveller, recognizing factors that may modify that risk, considering the role of interventions to decrease that risk and accounting for a traveller's perception and tolerance of risk. The goals of this review are to identify the in-flight transmission risks of commercial air travel, provide recommendations about the risks of flying during the pandemic and propose strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. KEY FINDINGS The airline industry has taken a layered approach to increase passenger safety through effective onboard ventilation, extended ventilation at the gate, boarding and deplaning strategies, improved aircraft disinfection and pre-flight screening such as temperature checks and COVID-19 testing. Proximity to an index case may contribute to the risk of transmission more than the seat type or location. The use of face masks has significantly reduced onboard transmission, and mandatory in-flight mask-wearing policies are being enforced. Innovations such as digital health passports may help standardize screening entry requirements at airports and borders, allowing for a safer return to travel. RECOMMENDATIONS In-flight transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is a real risk, which may be minimized by combining mitigation strategies and infection prevention measures including mandatory masking onboard, minimizing unmasked time while eating, turning on gasper airflow in-flight, frequent hand sanitizing, disinfecting high touch surfaces, promoting distancing while boarding and deplaning, limiting onboard passenger movement, implementing effective pre-flight screening measures and enhancing contact tracing capability. Assessing risk is a cornerstone of travel medicine. It is important to evaluate the multiple factors contributing to the cumulative risk of an individual traveller during the COVID-19 pandemic and to employ a multi-pronged approach to reduce that risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisha N Khatib
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Anna-Maria Carvalho
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Robert Primavesi
- Department of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Kent To
- Emirates Group Medical Services, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.,Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Vincent Poirier
- Department of Emergency Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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Abstract
The aircraft cabin and boarding procedures are steadily increasing focus points for both aircraft manufacturers and airlines, as they play a key part in the customer experience. In the German research project AVACON (AdVAnced Aircraft CONcepts), the boarding procedure is assessed using the PAXelerate boarding simulation. As the project demands an increased level of detail concerning the passenger movement model, this publication introduces an improved methodology. Additions to the model include the development of a method capable of describing the passenger walking speed in dependence of the surrounding objects, their proximity as well as the location of other passengers within the cabin. The validation of the model is performed using the AVACON research baseline and an Airbus A320. The model is then applied to an altered version of the Airbus A320 with an extended aisle and to a COVID-19 safe distance scenario. Regarding the results, an extended aisle width delivers boarding times reduced by up to 3%, whereas the COVID-19 assessment delivers a 67% increase in boarding times. Concluding, the integration of the newly developed model empowers PAXelerate to simulate a more detailed boarding process and enables a better understanding of the influence of cabin layout changes to an aircraft’s boarding performance.
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Determining the Number of Passengers for Each of Three Reverse Pyramid Boarding Groups with COVID-19 Flying Restrictions. Symmetry (Basel) 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/sym12122038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The onset of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 has changed many aspects of people’s economic and social activities. For many airlines, social distancing has reduced airplane capacity by one third as a result of keeping the middle seats empty. Additionally, social distancing between passengers traversing the aisle slows the boarding process. Recent literature has suggested that the reverse pyramid boarding method provides favorable values for boarding time and passenger health metrics when compared to other boarding methods with social distancing. Assuming reverse pyramid boarding with the middle seats unoccupied, we determined the number of passengers to include in each of three boarding groups. We assumed that passengers use a jet-bridge that connects the airport terminal to the airplane’s front door. We used agent-based modeling and a stochastic simulation to evaluate solutions. A full grid search found an initial good solution, and then local search optimization determined the best solution based upon the airline’s relative preference for minimizing average boarding time and minimizing risks to previously seated passengers from later-boarding, potentially contagious passengers breathing near them. The resulting solution contained the number of passengers to place into each of the three boarding groups. If an airline is most concerned about the health risk to seated passengers from later boarding passengers walking near them, the best three-group reverse pyramid method adapted for social distancing will first board passengers with window seats in the rear half of the airplane, then will board passengers with window seats in the front half of the airplane and those with aisle seats in the rear half of the airplane, and finally will board the passengers with aisle seats in the front half of the airplane. The resulting solution takes about 2% longer to board than the three-group solution that minimizes boarding time while providing a 25% decrease in health risk to aisle seat passengers from later boarding passengers.
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Milne RJ, Cotfas LA, Delcea C, Crăciun L, Molănescu AG. Adapting the reverse pyramid airplane boarding method for social distancing in times of COVID-19. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242131. [PMID: 33147603 PMCID: PMC7641653 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Social distancing resulting from the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) has disrupted the airplane boarding process. Social distancing norms reduce airplane capacity by keeping the middle seats unoccupied, while an imposed aisle social distance between boarding passengers slows the boarding. Recent literature suggests the Reverse Pyramid boarding method is a promising way to reduce health risk and keep boarding times low when 10 apron buses (essentially 10 boarding groups) are used to transport passengers from the airport terminal to a two-door airplane. We adapt the Reverse Pyramid method for social distancing when an airplane is boarded using a jet bridge that connects the terminal the airplane's front door. We vary the number of boarding groups from two to six and use stochastic simulation and agent-based modelling to show the resulting impact on four performance evaluation metrics. Increasing the number of boarding groups from two to six reduces boarding time only up to four groups but continues to reduce infection risk up to six groups. If the passengers carry fewer luggage aboard the airplane, health risks (as well as boarding times) decrease. One adaptation of the Reverse Pyramid (RP) method (RP-Spread) provides slightly faster boarding times than the other (RP-Steep), when luggage volumes are high, while RP-Steep results in less risk to window seat passengers from later-boarding passengers walking by their row. Increasing the minimum aisle social distance from 1 m to 2 m increases boarding times but results in lower health risks to passengers walking down the aisle and to the previously seated passengers they pass.
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Affiliation(s)
- R John Milne
- David D. Reh School of Business, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, United States of America
| | - Liviu-Adrian Cotfas
- Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Camelia Delcea
- Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Liliana Crăciun
- Department of Economics and Economic Policies, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Anca-Gabriela Molănescu
- Department of Economics and Economic Policies, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
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15
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Evaluation of Technology-Supported Distance Measuring to Ensure Safe Aircraft Boarding during COVID-19 Pandemic. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12208724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
With the rise of COVID-19, the sustainability of air transport is a major challenge, as there is limited space in aircraft cabins, resulting in a higher risk of virus transmission. In order to detect possible chains of infection, technology-supported apps are used for social distancing. These COVID-19 applications are based on the display of the received signal strength for distance estimation, which is strongly influenced by the spreading environment due to the signal multipath reception. Therefore, we evaluate the applicability of technology-based social distancing methods in an aircraft cabin environment using a radio propagation simulation based on a three-dimensional aircraft model. We demonstrate the susceptibility to errors of the conventional COVID-19 distance estimation, which can lead to large errors in the determination of distances and to the impracticability of traditional tracing approaches during passenger boarding/deboarding. In the context of the future connected cabin, a robust distance measurement must be implemented to ensure safe travel. Finally, our results can be transferred to similar fields of application, e.g., trains or public transport.
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Schultz M, Evler J, Asadi E, Preis H, Fricke H, Wu CL. Future aircraft turnaround operations considering post-pandemic requirements. JOURNAL OF AIR TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT 2020; 89:101886. [PMID: 33013010 PMCID: PMC7521905 DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Schultz
- Institute of Logistics and Aviation, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
| | - Jan Evler
- Institute of Logistics and Aviation, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
| | - Ehsan Asadi
- Institute of Logistics and Aviation, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
| | - Henning Preis
- Institute of Logistics and Aviation, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
| | - Hartmut Fricke
- Institute of Logistics and Aviation, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
| | - Cheng-Lung Wu
- School of Aviation, University of New South Wales, Australia
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Milne RJ, Delcea C, Cotfas LA, Ioanas C. Evaluation of Boarding Methods Adapted for Social Distancing When Using Apron Buses. IEEE ACCESS : PRACTICAL INNOVATIONS, OPEN SOLUTIONS 2020; 8:151650-151667. [PMID: 34786284 PMCID: PMC8545341 DOI: 10.1109/access.2020.3015736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Social distancing reduces the risk of people becoming infected with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). When passengers are transported from an airport terminal to an airplane using apron buses, safe social distancing during pandemic times reduces the capacity of the apron buses and has led to the practice of airlines keeping the middle seats of the airplanes unoccupied. This article adapts classical boarding methods so that they may be used with social distancing and apron buses. We conduct stochastic simulation experiments to assess nine adaptations of boarding methods according to four performance metrics. Three of the metrics are related to the risk of the virus spreading to passengers during boarding. The fourth metric is the time to complete boarding of the two-door airplane when apron bus transport passengers to the airplane. Our experiments assume that passengers advancing to their airplane seats are separated by an aisle social distance of 1 m or 2 m. Numerical results indicate that the three variations (adaptations) of the Reverse pyramid method are the best candidates for airlines to consider in this socially distanced context. The particular adaptation to use depends on an airline's relative preference for having short boarding times versus a reduced risk of later boarding passengers passing (and thereby possibly infecting) previously seated window seat passengers. If an airline considers the latter risk to be unimportant, then the Reverse pyramid - Spread method would be the best choice because it provides the fastest time to board the airplane and is tied for the best values for the other two health risk measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- R John Milne
- David D. Reh School of BusinessClarkson University Potsdam NY 13699 USA
| | - Camelia Delcea
- Department of Economic Informatics and CyberneticsBucharest University of Economic Studies 010552 Bucharest Romania
| | - Liviu-Adrian Cotfas
- Department of Economic Informatics and CyberneticsBucharest University of Economic Studies 010552 Bucharest Romania
| | - Corina Ioanas
- Department of Accounting and AuditBucharest University of Economic Studies 010552 Bucharest Romania
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