Grey clustering of the variations in the back-to-front airplane boarding method considering COVID-19 flying restrictions

Abstract

PurposeThe airline industry has been significantly hit by the occurrence of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, facing one of its worst crises in history. In this context, the present paper analyses one of the well-known boarding methods used in practice by the airlines before and during the coronavirus outbreak, namely back-to-front and suggests which variations of this method to use when three passenger boarding groups are considered and a jet bridge connects the airport terminal with the airplane.Design/methodology/approachBased on the importance accorded by the airlines to operational performance, health risks, and passengers' comfort, the variations in three passenger groups back-to-front boarding are divided into three clusters using the grey clustering approach offered by the grey systems theory.FindingsHaving the clusters based on the selected metrics and considering the social distance among the passengers, airlines can better understand how the variations in back-to-front perform in the new conditions imposed by the novel coronavirus and choose the boarding approach that better fits its policy and goals.Originality/valueThe paper combines the advantages offered by grey clustering and agent-based modelling for offering to determine which are the best configurations that offer a reduced boarding time, while accounting for reduced passengers' health risk, measured through three indicators: aisle risk, seat risk and type-3 seat interferences and for an increased comfort for the passengers manifested through a continuous walking flow while boarding.

Evaluation of Barriers to Gilgit Baltistan's Travel & Tourism Industry: Pakistani Youth's Perception

“…Such systems can be found in every field. That's why the theory has seen applications in various fields e.g., aviation industry (Delcea et al, 2021), energy sector (Wu et al, 2019;Xie et al, 2021), construction sector (Mahmoudi et al, 2021a), healthcare sector (Delcea & Bradea, 2017;Javed & Liu, 2018), supply chain management (Mahmoudi et al, 2021b), tourism sector (Javed et al, 2020), among others. Grey Relational Analysis is an important part of Grey System Theory and is primarily used for ranking of factors.…”

Health risks of airplane boarding methods with apron buses when some passengers disregard safe social distancing

“…Three of the five metrics related to passenger health are: aisle seat risk, window seat risk, the total number of seat interferences [ 3 , 5 , 41 ]. The other two health metrics—aisle standing risk and the individual boarding time—were created to capture health risks when there is an endemic (or an major health situation) that is unbeknownst to the traveling public and thus no passengers practice aisle social distancing [ 56 ].…”

“…The aisle seat risk is measured in seconds, a prolonged exposure being connected to a greater health risk for the previously seated passengers with aisle seats. The formula for calculating the aisle seat risk is given in the following [ 3 , 5 , 41 ]: where…”

“…Window seat risk measures a risk that is similar to aisle seat risk, with the only difference being that it is calculated for seated passengers with window seats that are potentially exposed to passengers walking by them to their assigned seats. The risk is measured in seconds by using the formula [ 3 , 5 , 41 ]: where…”

“…Meanwhile, keeping the social distance inside the airplane and respecting the recommendations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) of 1-2 m between passengers is burdensome as it reduces the number of available seats [6,38]. As a result, most of the recent literature considers a milder approach, inspired by the recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and by many airlines' boarding practice, namely an aisle social distance of 1 m-the minimum distance between adjacent passengers walking or standing in the aisle-and leaving the middle seats empty on airplanes with a narrow body and three seats on each side of the aisle [3,24,[39][40][41][42].…”