Evaluating security screening checkpoints for domestic flights using a general microscopic simulation model
Date
2006
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The issue of security has not always been prevalent in airport design. Nowadays, together with passenger convenience, environmental settings, and revenue production, is has become the main factor in airport design. In the wake of 9/11 many changes have taken place at commercial airports in the U.S. Terminals have been retrofitted to increase the capacity to screen passengers and their baggage, and security screening checkpoints have been equipped with the most advanced detection technologies. As a consequence passenger lines occasionally exceed into terminal halls, sometimes onto airports’ curbside. Today, the additional wait time and the inconvenience of searches experienced at the security screening checkpoint are still a matter of concern. ☐ The purpose of the present study was to assess operational efficiency of the passenger processing system with a sole emphasis on the screening of passengers and their carry-on baggage. ☐ This study also sought to define an acceptable waiting-time threshold, as well as general criteria, guidelines, procedures, required queuing area, and checkpoint layout and allocation. In addition, a sensitivity analyses was conducted by means of a general microscopic simulation model to test the impact of screeners’ performance and the effect of prescreening on wait times and queues. ☐ A simulation model was built reflecting current checkpoint configurations and procedures. The model was run at peak demand level. Then, by varying the portion of prescreened passengers the effect on wait time, service time, queue length, and throughput rate was studied. Another analysis was performed with respect to service times of different components within the checkpoint. Both analyses proved “sensitive” and their impacts were found to be significant. ☐ The conducted sensitivity analysis produced average values for wait time, service time, queue length, and passenger throughput. It was found that significant improvements occur as the portion of passenger that is positively profiled increases. Reduction in queue length, and thus wait time, was found to occur even at relatively high percentages of random selected passengers. Overall the system is sensitive towards the amount of passengers and/or bags that cause alarm. As lay in the line of expectation, screener’s performance for secondary screening is most prone to cause the system to delay as a whole.