Abstracts 247 Boarding-Step by Step: A Cellular Automaton Approach to Optimising Aircraft Boarding Time Chris rohwer Andreas Haver Louise viljoen University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch, South africa Advisor: Jan H. van Vuuren Summary We model the boarding time for the aircraft using a cellular automaton. We investigate possible solutions and present recommendations about effective implementati The cellular automaton model is implemented in three stages Initialisation of the seating layout for a chosen aircraft type and assignment The sorting of passengers varIous propose Propagating" the passengers through the aisle(s)of the aircraft and seating them at their assigned places The rules governing the automaton take into account various factors. Among these are the load factor(percentage filled )of the craft, different walking speeds of passengers walking through the aisle, and time delays from stowing luggage nd obstructions by other passengers during the seating process. The algorithm accommodates predefined aircraft layouts of common aircraft and also user defined aircraft layouts We modeled and tested various boarding strategies for efficiency with re- gard to total boarding time and average boarding time per passenger. Thus, our approach focuses not only on optimisation of the process in favour of the airlines, but also yields information regarding convenience to passengers. Ran- dom boarding(where passengers with assigned seat numbers enter the plane in a random sequence)was used as a point of reference. Among other strategies tested were boarding the plane in groups from either end, boarding from seats farthest from the aisles toward the aisles, and combinations of these approachesAbstracts 247 Boarding-Step by Step: A Cellular Automaton Approach to Optimising Aircraft Boarding Time Chris Rohwer Andreas Hafver Louise Viljoen University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch, South Africa Advisor: Jan H. van Vuuren Summary We model the boarding time for the aircraft using a cellular automaton. We investigate possible solutions and present recommendations about effective implementation. The cellular automaton model is implemented in three stages: "* Initialisation of the seating layout for a chosen aircraft type and assignment of seats to passengers "* The sorting of passengers according to various proposed boarding methods "* "Propagating" the passengers through the aisle(s) of the aircraft and seating them at their assigned places. The rules governing the automaton take into account various factors. Among these are the load factor (percentage filled) of the craft, different walking speeds of passengers walking through the aisle, and time delays from stowing luggage and obstructions by other passengers during the seating process. The algorithm accommodates predefined aircraft layouts of common aircraft and also user￾defined aircraft layouts. We modeled and tested various boarding strategies for efficiency with re￾gard to total boarding time and average boarding time per passenger. Thus, our approach focuses not only on optimisation of the process in favour of the airlines, but also yields information regarding convenience to passengers. Ran￾dom boarding (where passengers with assigned seat numbers enter the plane in a random sequence) was used as a point of reference. Among other strategies tested were boarding the plane in groups from either end, boarding from seats farthest from the aisles toward the aisles, and combinations of these approaches