Adjusting for luggage-laden pedestrians in airport terminals

Abstract A traffic facility should be evaluated in the context of the prevalent traffic mix, if this mix consists of a significant presence of elements of variable behaviour and space requirements. Airport terminal arrivals corridor pedestrian traffic was evaluated to determine if the presence of luggage-encumbered pedestrians affected the description of pedestrian traffic flows. Subsequently, an adjustment model was developed to standardize these pedestrian traffic flows for use in walkway analyses. The reduction in standard pedestrian flow is evaluated through the assessment of relative space requirements for basic user classes. Classes include standard unencumbered pedestrians, pedestrians carrying one piece of luggage, pedestrians carrying two pieces of luggage, and pedestrians using luggage carts. Space requirements are defined using headway from the appropriate speed-time headway regression model, and lane width requirements based on the width of the respective pedestrian classes. Illustrative examples of possible applications are presented.