DECISION TOOL FOR ANALYSIS OF CAPACITY OF AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDINGS

A systems approach to the analysis of the airport system is presented. Airport managers currently do not have a viable tool for determining the effects on capacity of altering the location, operation, or design of individual components within an airport. Models currently exist for analyzing airside capacity, but there has been no means available for comparing and balancing the capacity of all landside components. The technical literature does not contain a method for analyzing these units as a system. A new definition of the airport system and a new systems-analysis-based definition of capacity in relation to level of service are presented, and an algorithm and a computer program that analyze the flow of passengers through the airport system as a function of time are discussed. (Author)