Airport security measures and their influence on enplanement intentions: Responses from leisure travelers attending a Canadian University

Airport security measures can be grouped into two types; standardized screening techniques, which all passengers must undergo (e.g., baggage X-rays, metal detecting scans); and elevated-risk screening (including pat-downs and strip searches) for which only a sub-set of passengers are selected. In the current study, an undergraduate sample (n = 636) was surveyed regarding the professionalism of security screening staff, as well as perceived safety, threat to dignity, and enplanement intentions, following standard and elevated-risk screening measures. Consistent with our hypotheses, perceived professionalism and safety were positively correlated with enplanement intentions, and dignity threat was negatively associated with perceived safety. As the perceived safety from the use of a security measure decreased, enplanement intentions also decreased. Notably, when a screening measure is perceived as having negative consequences (e.g., threatening one's sense of dignity) the safety of the measure is personally invalidated.     

Airport security screening and changing passenger satisfaction: An exploratory assessment

Since September 11, 2001, airport screening procedures in the US have been continuously evolving. For example, the passenger screening process is now trying to strike a balance between security and customer service (i.e. minimizing wait times). This balancing act has important implications not only for passenger safety, but also for the financial stability of an airline industry that is faced with volatile energy prices and sometimes burdensome labor agreements. Using data from 2002 and 2003, we estimate multinomial logit models to uncover factors that determine passenger satisfaction at security screening points. Our findings show that, while wait times at security screening points are significant determinants of passenger satisfaction, many other factors come into play. Moreover, the results show that the determinants of customer satisfaction are not stable over time. This suggests that further refinements in airport screening procedures should give careful consideration to the factors underlying passenger satisfaction, and how these might change over time, rather than focusing exclusively on minimizing wait times at passenger screening points.     

Evaluation of level of service for transfer passengers at airports

Transfer passengers have quite different needs than those of originating and terminating passengers. For example, they do not make use of airport access roads. Other facilities may or may not be used depending on the type of transfers, the airport's operational configuration and the airline services. Despite the increasing importance of transfer passengers for airport operations, little research has been done to determine their needs. This study analyses transfer passengers’ views on the quality of services at the terminal building, using data collected at Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka, which aspires along with the airline ‘Sri Lankan’ to be a major hub for South Asia. Regression analysis was used to identify the transfer passenger facilities and services with the strongest effect on the overall perception of level of service. The application of regression analysis to the data collected at Bandaranaike International Airport shows that the courtesy of the security check staff and the quality of the Flight Information Display are among the most valued by transfer passengers at that airport.     

Analyzing passenger behavior in airport terminals based on activity preferences

Airport terminals are facilities that provide a variety of activities related to both the preparation of the passengers for their air trip (aeronautical) and their free time inside the terminal (non-aeronautical). In the last years, the number of non-aeronautical activities has substantially increased and significantly diversified both before and after the security checkpoint. The established role of non-aeronautical activities forces planners and managers to better understand passenger behavior. The potential of discrete choice models for the exploration of passenger behavior is analyzed in this paper. For the demonstration of the methodology, Lisbon Humberto Delgado International airport is used as a case study. Data is collected through a revealed and stated preference survey inside the terminal at the area before the security checkpoint. Activity-choice models are developed to identify the factors that affect the choices of the passengers over the area where they conduct non-aeronautical activities. Forecasts show that when increasing the percentage of passengers who conduct the check-in online and have planned their activities before arriving at the airport, the passengers’ preferences to conduct non-aeronautical activities only after the security checkpoint increase. This paper shows the contribution of developing discrete choice models in the better comprehension of passenger decisions over the activities they perform in an airport terminal.     

The effects of service quality dimensions and passenger characteristics on passenger's overall satisfaction with an airport

The objective of this paper is twofold. First, to identify service quality dimensions related to airports. Second, to examine the effects of those dimensions on passenger's overall satisfaction with an airport together with variables related to passenger characteristics. Data from an extensive survey applied in a main Brazilian international airport were used. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to extract dimensions of airport service quality as perceived by the passengers. The effects on the overall satisfaction level were estimated using a probabilistic approach. Findings underline implications regarding the use of meaningful service dimensions instead of a large set of variables as predictors of passenger satisfaction. Moreover, the study stresses the need for considering how passenger characteristics may be related to different perceived levels of service quality.     

An airport operations proposal for a pandemic-free air travel

The aviation industry needs to work on the resilience of air travel against health threats and regain passenger trust. This paper proposes a pandemic-free travel concept based on creating an infectious diseases free zone in the airport terminal building through screening of passengers, crews and airport workers. This research shows that infectious disease detection methods applicable at the airport could be available in a short timeframe, at affordable cost and in scale. The potential location of passenger health screening, facilitation requirements, health responsibilities delegation and appropriate usage of industry standards for regulations are key elements to a potential implementation that would be phased and long term.     

Measuring airport service quality: A multidimensional approach

Currently, airports are expected to be operated as self-sufficient service organizations providing efficient and high-quality services to a variety of customers. In this context, improving airport service quality (ASQ) has become paramount. However, due to the complexity of the airport service environment, an effective process of measuring and analyzing passenger perceptions of ASQ is not easily achieved. Generic scales for perceived service quality might not cover some particularities of the passenger–airport interaction. Furthermore, while some measurement practices have been developed within the airport industry, there has been only limited consideration for validity and reliability. These concerns are certainly relevant to avoid misinterpreting passenger perceptions. In view of these concerns, this paper has a twofold objective. First, to fit a measurement model for perceived ASQ built on typical service measures within the airport industry. Second, to test for the model's equivalence across groups of passengers. Sample data from an extensive survey applied at a major Brazilian airport was used for confirmatory factor analysis. The results suggested that a six-factor structure provides a meaningful multi-item measurement model for perceived ASQ. The model was validated for international and domestic departing passengers with respect to its factorial structure and metric invariance. The proposed measurement model could be considered an alternative for a multidimensional approach in the context of airport performance measurement regarding service quality. Finally, the findings from this research might contribute to the discussion on passenger perceptions of ASQ, particularly concerning its multidimensionality and the need to review current practices for ASQ analysis.     

Passenger perceptions of service quality: Korean and Australian case studies

This paper investigates air passengers’ perceptions of 11 factors that may influence their buying behaviour namely, in-flight service, reservation-related service, airport service, reliability, employee service, flight availability, perceived price, passenger satisfaction, perceived value, airline image, and overall service quality. Analysis of variance and an independent sample t-test are applied to data collected from Korean and Australian international air passengers. The results reveal that passenger perceptions are significantly different across airlines, seat classes, and usage frequencies.     

Analytic hierarchy process approach for identifying relative importance of factors to improve passenger security checks at airports

Many failures concerned with detecting prohibited items from air passenger or carry on luggage have been reported from time to time even in advanced countries. The objective of this research is to study the relative importance of the means to improve passenger security checks at the airport. The authors recognize that there are three major factors affecting the effectiveness of passenger screening: human resources, equipment and facilities, and procedures and responsibility structures. The study utilized an AHP analysis on surveyed data about the relative importance of the factors and elements concerned with the improvement of passenger screening. The result of the analytic hierarchy process analysis showed that the most important factor that would need improvement to raise the performance of passenger screening would be human resources. This result is compatible with the globally accepted assertion held by others in the aviation world.     

Simulation method for dispatching national border security manpower to mitigate manpower shortage

Recently, a record number of passengers have entered and exited Taiwan from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA). The number of passengers from Taiwan to mainland China has increased largely because of the improvement of cross-strait cultural interaction and other policies, as well as the opening of direct flights. Not only located in the transport hub of the East Asia Taoyuan International Airport is becoming more important and can provide 24 h Airport service, but also airport immigration officers must take 24 h shift to carry out the passenger document inspection requirement, Immigration officers can be fatigued by long shifts, thus negatively affecting border security clearance efficiency and work performance. Consequently, innovative management practices regarding immigration officers are necessary to strengthen international cooperation against terrorism. This study used system simulation Delphi interviews and a heuristic algorithm to determine the required number of airport immigration officers during a fixed passenger waiting time, for improving the efficiency and stability of airport immigration officers who work to consolidate the border security of the country. The results showed that the utilization of airport immigration officers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is higher than 97.99%, and their work hours have been reduced by more than 54.68%. These results proved that using a system simulation can reduce long work shifts and negligence, which can lead improved border security and airport service quality. Additionally, the simulation results that when the National Immigration Agency and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport implement the biometrics verification system for noncitizens, significant manpower shortages are expected. These shortages can cause complaints from customers and result in a negative image of the quality of airport service. Assigning priority to setting the E-GATE system to compensate for the lack of immigration officers would result in more efficient and effective border security.     

Queue behavioural patterns for passengers at airport terminals: A machine learning approach

Passengers go through different handling processes inside airport terminal buildings. The quality of these processes is usually measured by the time passengers require and by the level of comfort experienced by them. We present an analysis of behavioural patterns in queues at check-in desks and security controls, which are two of the most critical processes regarding passenger service. The passengers' flow is simulated to obtain queue lengths at one busy European airport between 2014 and 2016, supported by real flight data. Simulation is designed as a store-and forward cell-based system, whose parameters have been tuned and validated with real data from observations and empirical capacity and demand studies within the airport. Random Forest algorithms are then implemented to develop different models for each parameter prediction, after a data analysis stage based on statistical and visualization methods. Feature analysis techniques between dependent variables and the target outputs (queue lengths) determine which are the fundamental elements to explain queue behaviour and to predict target variables. We provide a method to forecast behavioural patterns at check-in desks and security controls, to help airport operators to implement adequate response policies. Queue behavioural patterns are captured by Machine Learning models, which can be used to offer improved passenger services (such as real-time predictions for expected waiting time at queues), or can be considered in a dynamic approach for terminal services design (as the entire progress of terminal handling depends on the stochastic behaviour of passengers). This could be a key tool for managing passengers demand and optimise the infrastructure's capacity through resource allocation.     

Leisure versus business passengers: Similarities,differences, and implications

As low-cost air carriers increase their market share, the percentage of leisure to total passengers will increase. Data from an airport passenger survey are analyzed to document differences and similarities between leisure and business passengers. Surprisingly, the two groups of passengers are quite similar in terms of their reasons for choosing to fly from the airport surveyed, their parking requirements, and the number of bags they checked. These similarities indicate that airline and airport managers may not be obliged to make significant adjustments to their operations to account for the changing passenger mix.     

综合交通客运枢纽乘客服务设施系统优化方法

为消除综合交通客运枢纽内乘客拥挤、踩踏等安全隐患，提出基于稳定性的综合交通客运枢纽乘客服务设施系统优化方法，为提高综合交通客运枢纽运营效率、优化枢纽的乘客服务设施系统配置、提高安全运营管理等提供应用基础理论支撑。综述相关领域的研究进展．以乘客和服务设施构成的系统为研究对象，从排队网络的视角出发。提出乘客聚集状态变化分析方法和适应乘客聚集状态变化的乘客服务设施系统配置方案。     

The sky is the limit? The determinants and constraints of European airports commercial revenues

This study investigates the determinants of commercial and retail airport revenues from real estate operations. Aviation revenues per passenger are mainly determined by the national income per capita in the area where the airport is located, the percentage of leisure travelers and the size of the airport. Main drivers of commercial revenues per passenger include the number of passengers passing through the airport, the ratio of commercial to total revenues, national income, the share of domestic and leisure travelers and the number of flights. These results are in line with previous findings of a negative influence of business travelers on commercial revenues per passenger. We also find that a large amount of retail space per passenger is generally associated with lower commercial revenues per square meter confirming decreasing marginal revenue effects. Real estate revenues per passenger are positively associated with national income per capita at airport location, share of intra-EU passengers and percent delayed flights.     

An application of the airport service quality model in South Africa

Passengers’ expectations of service quality at airports are becoming increasingly important as air traffic grows. This research investigated passengers’ perceptions of airport service quality at O.R. Tambo International Airport, South Africa. An existing model placing the concept of passenger expectations central to measuring an airport’s specific level of performance was applied. The results proved significant in terms of the investment made by the airport in staff training and highlighted areas for improvement. The results show that business travellers and leisure travellers have different opinions regarding the importance of services offered by airports and of the level of performance at ORTIA in particular. Significant differences also occur in the perceptions of frequent travellers and infrequent travellers.     

Supply-and-demand models for exploring relationships between smaller airports and neighboring hub airports in the U.S.

Airport passenger leakage is the phenomenon of air passengers choosing to travel longer distances to access more extensive air services offered by airlines at an out-of-region hub (or, substitute) airport, instead of using their local airports. Airport leakage can cause further reduction in services offered by airlines at a local airport, thereby causing even further leakage, and so on, which can significantly impact an airport's role in the growth of the local economy. This paper explores the geographic and operational attributes of local-and-substitute airport pairs in the United States, explicitly accounting for the interactive feedback relationship between passenger volumes and air service characteristics that contribute to the onset, persistence, and exacerbation of airport passenger leakage. A two-stage least squares regression model of air passenger demand at small- and medium-sized airports is first presented, where local passengers may travel by vehicle to larger, out-of-region hub airports. The results confirm that airfare and passenger volume relationships exist between the local and substitute airport pairs included in the dataset, and that lower airfares at the substitute airport have a greater impact on airport choices made by larger travel groups. They also suggest the existence of positive feedback in that if an airport attracts increasingly smaller passenger numbers with fewer air services and fewer air services with fewer passengers, without external intervention airport leakage impacts may be irreversible and exacerbate over time. A conceptual market share equilibrium analysis is used to illustrate the mechanisms of a direct two-way feedback relationship between passenger volumes at a local airport and air service characteristics at both the local and substitute airports. With data, this quantitative framework can help guide airport planners in further assessing and verifying suspected passenger leakage issues at their airport. The results suggest that without intervention, airport leakage impacts may be difficult to reverse; further exacerbating the trend are technological advancements that make driving cheaper and easier (connected and autonomous vehicles). However, the results can also guide planners in choosing the types and degrees of infrastructure investments and airline incentives that may be used to expand or retain air services to attract passengers.     

Access mode choice for relocated airports: the new Athens International Airport

To estimate the capacity requirements for all access related facilities of a new airport and to set pricing or operational policies it is necessary to forecast the share of each transport mode that airport passengers use. The development of these forecasts cannot be based on mere transfer of experience from other airports, particularly in the modern era of wide regulatory reforms, liberalization of the aviation market and increasing airport competition. First access modal split at the existing airport is determined via passenger classification and discrete choice modeling. Both are conducted via a passenger survey study specifically designed for this purpose. The resulting models are then employed to forecast access modal splits for the relocated airport by proper adjustment of the attribute values. The method is applied to the new Athens International Airport.     

Service quality of airports' food and beverage retailers. A fuzzy approach

Nowadays the profitability of airports is largely based on non-aeronautical or commercial activities, and particularly on retail and food and beverage services. Further, researchers concur that shopping, eating and drinking in airports have to be considered an important part of tourists' experience and activities that can significantly enhance or damage the tourist destination image. Despite this, there is still little research that analyses how service quality (SQ) is perceived by passengers consuming food and beverages (F&B) in airport areas. This study aims to deepen the scientific debate on this topic. Specifically, this study applies fuzzy numbers with a sample of 551 passengers flying from Olbia-Costa Smeralda Airport (Sardinia Region, Italy) with the aim of determining how they perceive the SQ delivered by F&B retailers and whether age plays a determinant role in segmentation. Findings reveal which F&B features outperform others; furthermore, they show that age is a moderating factor in consumer satisfaction, with older passengers being less satisfied than their counterparts. This study adds knowledge to the literature devoted to SQ, applying a fuzzy number approach to the under-investigated research area related to F&B consumption in airport areas. Further, it provides information useful to airport managers on the features of F&B services that are most important in shaping consumer satisfaction, based also on their age. Limitations of the study are also discussed and suggestions for future research are given.     

The impact of low-cost carriers on airport choice in the US: A case study of the Washington–Baltimore region

Previous research has shown that low-cost carriers (LCCs) may stimulate traffic at an airport by offering low fares. Using passenger survey data from the Washington–Baltimore region’s three airports, we find that the benefits of LCCs to airports extend beyond the traffic generated directly by the LCCs through their low fares. In addition, we find that the mere presence of an LCC at an airport can attract passengers, even to competing carriers. These “halo effects” from LCC presence increase the significance to airport managers of attracting LCCs in order to generate passenger demand.     

Segmentation of passenger preferences for using digital technologies at airports in Norway

Airports are increasingly focused on implementing digital technologies at key stages of the airport journey to enhance the passenger experience. However, passengers have different preferences. TwoStep Cluster Analysis is used to reveal the presence of distinct segments according to their preferences. The findings are based on a survey of 6082 passengers at airports in Norway. Three distinct segments are identified: those that prefer traditional manual processes, those that prefer automated technology-based processes, and those that prefer more personalised technology-based processes. Significant differences are revealed for each segment according to passenger and trip characteristics and opinions regarding how the use of digital technologies at airports impact on personal privacy and human dignity. The findings contribute to knowledge on passenger preferences at airports and can help to inform airport decision making.