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Social distancing in airplane seat assignments

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  • Salari, Mostafa
  • Milne, R. John
  • Delcea, Camelia
  • Kattan, Lina
  • Cotfas, Liviu-Adrian

Abstract

This paper addresses the airplane passengers’ seat assignment problem while practicing social distancing among passengers. We proposed a mixed integer programming model to assign passengers to seats on an airplane in a manner that will respect two types of social distancing. One type of social distancing refers to passengers being seated far enough away from each other. The metric for this type of social distancing is how many passengers are seated so close to each other as to increase the risk of infection. The other type of social distancing refers to the distance between seat assignments and the aisle. That distance influences the health risk involved in passengers and crew members walking down the aisle. Corresponding metrics for both health risks are included in the objective function. To conduct simulation experiments, we define different scenarios distinguishing between the relative level of significance of each type of social distancing. The results suggest the seating assignments that best serve the intention of the scenarios. We also reformulate the initial model to determine seat assignments that maximize the number of passengers boarding an airplane while practicing social distancing among passengers. In the last part of this study, we compare the proposed scenarios with the recommended middle-seat blocking policy presently used by some airlines to keep social distancing among passengers. The results show that the proposed scenarios can provide social distancing among seated passengers similar to the middle-seat blocking policy, while reducing the number of passengers seated close to the aisle of an airplane.

Suggested Citation

  • Salari, Mostafa & Milne, R. John & Delcea, Camelia & Kattan, Lina & Cotfas, Liviu-Adrian, 2020. "Social distancing in airplane seat assignments," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:89:y:2020:i:c:s0969699720304981
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101915
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Liu, Anyu & Kim, Yoo Ri & O'Connell, John Frankie, 2021. "COVID-19 and the aviation industry: The interrelationship between the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the frequency of flights on the EU market," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
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    8. Paul Schwarzbach & Julia Engelbrecht & Albrecht Michler & Michael Schultz & Oliver Michler, 2020. "Evaluation of Technology-Supported Distance Measuring to Ensure Safe Aircraft Boarding during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-15, October.
    9. Fischetti, Martina & Fischetti, Matteo & Stoustrup, Jakob, 2023. "Safe distancing in the time of COVID-19," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 304(1), pages 139-149.
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