Planning future airline passenger terminals and assessing existing terminals typically involve the determination of facility requirements. These requirements may be derived by various methods ranging from simple rules of thumb to sophisticated simulation models. However, all methods require data on airline passenger volumes and the rates at which these passengers can be served at ticket counters, baggage check-in, passenger security screening, and other processing points. Passenger processing rates are influenced by many airport factors, including the type of airline service (e.g., domestic, trans-border, and long-haul international), type of travel (e.g., business or leisure), amount of baggage, and size of party. Recent developments, including the growth of low-cost carriers, increased security, and the increased use of internet and self-service devices, raise doubts about the validity of data collected in the past.

The objectives of this research are to (1) compile a unified database on passenger-related processing rates in an electronic spreadsheet or database format that is useful to planners, designers, and other interested parties and (2) provide guidance on how best to collect passenger-related processing point data.

Status:    The Final Report has been published as: ACRP Report 23: Airport Passenger-Related Processing Rates Guidebook.