Optimising Security Screening Resources during Airport Access Mode Disruptions

Airport access mode disruptions have a significant impact on passenger arrival times and thus on congestion level at security screening systems. During such events, information sharing between ground and air transportation stakeholders could be a key lever to optimize airport operations at a tactical level. In this work, an online reallocation of airport security teams across the different security screening checkpoints is considered. Three integer linear programming formulations of the problem are proposed to increase the level of service of an airport when a disruption occurs. A study case based on one day of operations at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is considered. Results show that reallocating airport security staff when outbound passengers are delayed could significantly improve airport security system performances. The different allocations obtained lead to a drop in the maximum waiting time up to 72%. In addition, the average waiting time and the number of stranded passengers at the airport are reduced.