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Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport (Germany)

Passenger Flow Simulation and Layout Evaluation

2002

With the goal to increase airport revenue from retail sales, Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport redesigned the departure area of the Terminal building. The idea behind the redesign was primarily to integrate additional retail space into the existing terminal building and redirect passenger flow to make this additional space attractive to potential concessionaires, without compromising the passengers comfort, flow or experience.

Logplan was selected to verify the new design by the use of a detailed passenger flow simulation. Logplan evaluated the proposed final redesign concept and determined if it would have the desired impact on passenger flow inside the departure area. To accomplish this task, a simulation model was programmed that graphically simulated realistic passenger movement as proposed in the final concept.

The key feature of the Logplan modeling approach for this project was the decentralized control of passenger movement behavior. This means that each simulated passenger was programmed as an individual that could interact with other passengers and move independently through the simulated departure area. When encountering another passenger or object, the simulated passenger was able to make decisions on movement based on behavioral parameters.

In addition to these parameters, different airlines, flight types (e.g. scheduled / charter flights) and passenger types (e.g. EU or non EU) were integrated in this model. Data pre-processing was based on specific counter and gate assignment rules that were then integrated into the simulation model.

In order to accurately simulate the check-in and security control process, passengers were programmed to move towards a specific series of primary targets (e.g. check-in counters, security check points, passport control facilities, gates and exits) before being allowed to access their particular flight boarding area. Secondary targets (e.g. ancillary facilities like waiting and retail areas) were made available to those passengers that arrived earlier than their scheduled boarding time.

The results of this simulation provided Schönefeld International Airport with predictions for passenger flow, service levels in specific terminal areas, expected progression of the queuing lengths and waiting times in front of primary target facilities. Additionally, the simulation model enabled a detailed analysis of delays to passengers caused by the proposed facility design and/or operating strategies.

Upon completion of the simulation, Logplan was asked to test if the new layout could handle the expected increase of passengers in the near future as well as propose suggestions for optimization of the final redesign concept.

Based on the simulation results, Logplan was able to identify bottlenecks and to define detailed recommendations on how to optimize the building layout and the operating processes. The recommendations proposed by Logplan were integrated into the concept design.