Modelling and Managing Airport Passenger Flow: A Case of Hasan Polatkan Airport in Turkey

The airport passenger flow process is an integrated system in which passengers interact with multiple components of the system, and a failure in one component can cause greater disruption in others because of time-related constraints. Airport operators analyse and decide the results by using decision support systems under the airport management strategies by determining the potential congestion and related problems such as capacity limitations or equipment malfunctions. In this study, airport systems handle the passenger flow that covers all activities between the airport entrance and boarding. Discrete event simulation was used to assess the passenger flow and performing the activities in the related processes. The model comprises security screening, check-in, passport control and boarding processes. Within the proposed model, points with potential bottlenecks in Hasan Polatkan Airport have estimated according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) performance values.