Baggage Claim Analysis at Airports Using Simulation

This study presents a methodology to investigate the level of service provided by an airport’s baggage claim area, using different techniques to complement the analysis. A simulation model was developed and the domestic departure areas at two major Brazilian airports were is selected as case studies. Once the simulation model had been verified and validated, 16 different scenarios were tested using Taguchi’s Orthogonal Array. On analyzing the results and aggregating the variables “waiting time” and “available space”, it was possible to observe that the service index offered in the baggage claim area is classified as bad if the carousel perimeter is small and if the flight allocation interval at this carousel is short, even if the waiting time is within the limit acceptable to IATA - International Air Transport Association. In addition, using the linear regression method, it was noted that the variables that have most influence on baggage claim waiting time are the time it takes passengers to get to the baggage claim area after the arrival of the aircraft at the airport and the time it takes baggage to get to the carousels after the arrival of the aircraft at the airport.