Air Passenger Research Articles

Can air traffic booms induce innovation and bridge regional innovation gaps?

AbstractThe key role of innovation in long-term economic growth is well-established, but it is unevenly distributed across regions. This paper examines how increased air passenger traffic fosters innovation and whether it reduces innovation disparities. Focusing on regional innovation in Indonesia, measured by patent activity, we utilize the exogenous airline deregulation in the early 2000s, which significantly boosted domestic air passenger traffic. Using a newly geocoded patent dataset for Indonesian municipalities from 1995 to 2016, we find that domestic air passenger traffic positively affects regional patenting. This result is robust across various samples and sensitivity tests. However, increased air passenger traffic alone may not suffice to reduce innovation disparities within the country.

Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic for Better EU Rules on Air Passenger Rights

Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic for Better EU Rules on Air Passenger Rights

Air Pollutant Emissions of Passenger Cars in Poland in Terms of Their Environmental Impact and Type of Energy Consumption

The increasing number of vehicles operating in Poland, especially passenger vehicles, justifies the need to conduct air pollution emission tests in the context of the impact of vehicles on the natural environment. Firstly, this article reviews the publications related to air pollutant emissions and passenger vehicles traveling on Polish roads. However, it presents a special method using advanced research equipment to determine air pollutant emissions. The above research methods are justified in implementing clean transport zones. Real Driving Emissions represent an essential procedure in the implementation of clean transport zones in Poland, verifying the actual emissions of air pollutants and modeling this phenomenon using the results of real air pollutant emissions. The results of this research state that establishing a link between a vehicle’s air pollutant emissions and its age can support making transport or delivery planning more sustainable and choosing less carbon-intensive means of transport to reduce the negative impact of transport on the environment. The scientific novelty of the proposed solutions is the verification of the actual emissions of Euro 6 vehicles and the modeling of air pollutant emissions as a function of speed and acceleration. The research results are included in this article and will become input data for further analysis in examining the impact of vehicle operating age on air pollution emissions. Consequently, the novelty of the present research also lies in its focus on the verification of the impact of operating age, particularly in the context of vehicles exceeding 15 years of age, on air pollutant emissions. By establishing a correlation between a vehicle’s air pollutant emissions and its operating age, it becomes possible to make transport or delivery planning more sustainable. Furthermore, the selection of less carbon-intensive means of transport can contribute to reducing the negative impact of transport on the environment.

Tradeoffs between privacy and screening efficiency for air passengers – Implications for tourism supply chain management

ABSTRACT This study employs the stated preference method to explore airline passengers’ choices during security screening and examines their trade-offs between privacy and efficiency. We compare two Asian economic hub cities (i.e. Hong Kong and Shanghai), with 500 business and leisure travellers sampled from each city. A generalised mixed multinomial logit model is estimated. The results suggest that travellers display varied levels of privacy concerns, including biometrics, biographical data, identifiers, and behavioural information. The participants from Shanghai expressed a willingness to go through fingerprint scanning and to provide facial images. The travellers in Hong Kong displayed notable reluctance to receive iris scans and disclose political and religious affiliations, and they were particularly hesitant about sharing medication records. Despite some differences between the two markets, both groups strongly opposed smartphone tracking, including access to search history and GPS location. In general, business (vs. leisure) travellers, men (vs. women), individuals with higher education levels, and those with higher personal monthly incomes strongly preferred fast-track schemes that utilised personal data. Our findings highlight the possibility of making more effective transitions to high-tech screening methods that meet the changing expectations of travellers if total screening time can be significantly decreased.

Impacts of a sustainable aviation fuel mandate on airline competition — Full-service carrier vs. low-cost carrier

The aviation industry has proposed the collective goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In addition to the existing market-based methods (MBMs), the use of renewable energies, in particular, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), could be one of the most promising means for achieving this long-term target. This paper investigates how an SAF mandate from the government can lead to heterogeneous impacts on two types of airlines, namely, full-service carriers (FSCs) and low-cost carriers (LCCs), that compete in the same markets. A game-theoretic economic model is constructed that accounts for the different service quality levels and cost structures (i.e., fuel efficiency) between FSCs and LCCs. Our analytical results suggest that the SAF mandate favors LCCs over FSCs. The share of SAF blended into fuel raises the airfares of both types of airlines while reducing the traffic and profit of FSCs. The impacts on the LCC traffic and profit depend on its fuel efficiency relative to that of FSC. When LCCs are sufficiently fuel efficient, the SAF mandate can increase their traffic and profit. The government subsidy on airline's SAF use is also analyzed, deriving the optimal subsidy levels for FSC and LCC respectively to achieve pareto-improvement in social welfare and consumer surplus. We also examine how air passengers’ environmental awareness affects the outcomes of SAF mandate implementation. Our economic model also accounts for passengers’ heterogeneous preferences in terms of service quality and price sensitivity.

International legal mechanisms for ensuring the responsibility of the air carrier before the passenger

Liability to passengers and cargo owners for damage caused during international air transportation is primarily borne by the carrier. From the content of the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions, it follows that the carrier can be any natural or legal person who has concluded a contract of carriage with the passenger or the consignor of the cargo and carries out this carriage on a remuneration basis. Reasons are required for the carrier to be liable as a party performing the contract. The plaintiff, who demands compensation, must prove the fact of breach of obligation by his counterparty, the presence and amount of damage, as well as the cause-and- effect relationship between the offense and the damage. However, the defendant (carrier) has the right to prove the absence of his fault and refer to the limitation of his liability. The Warsaw (1929) and Montreal (2009) conventions contain relatively detailed and fairly clear instructions on the carrier’s liability, establishing the grounds for exemption from it and, in most cases, limiting its size by the so-called relaxations in the air carrier’s liability regime. Like the norms of the internal transport legislation of the states, the norms of the conventions are of an imperative nature, with equal protection of the interests of consumers of services provided by transport organizations, and even the complexity of transport operation technologies, the mass of operations and the risks associated with the use of vehicles. This article examines the question of the extent to which international conventions and rules determining the liability of air carrier passengers have been successfully harmonized at the international level and eliminated the conflict of law problem, as well as the degree of development and effectiveness of these international conventions and rules, norms for ensuring the liability of air carriers to air passengers. Summarizing, the author notes that the Montreal Convention improves the situation of passengers and cargo owners, eliminates complications with lengthy court processes, to the advantage of the Warsaw Convention, which is somewhat outdated and does not correspond to today’s realities. The new convention strengthens competition in the air transport market, increases the responsibility of airlines to passengers and removes restrictions on compensation for loss of baggage or damage to the life and health of passengers, significantly simplifying the mechanism of obtaining it.

Emergence of the B.1.214.2 SARS-CoV-2 lineage with an Omicron-like spike insertion and a unique upper airway immune signature

We investigate the emergence, mutation profile, and dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.214.2, first identified in Belgium in January 2021. This variant, featuring a 3-amino acid insertion in the spike protein similar to the Omicron variant, was speculated to enhance transmissibility or immune evasion. Initially detected in international travelers, it substantially transmitted in Central Africa, Belgium, Switzerland, and France, peaking in April 2021. Our travel-aware phylogeographic analysis, incorporating travel history, estimated the origin to the Republic of the Congo, with primary European entry through France and Belgium, and multiple smaller introductions during the epidemic. We correlate its spread with human travel patterns and air passenger data. Further, upon reviewing national reports of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in Belgian nursing homes, we found this strain caused moderately severe outcomes (8.7% case fatality ratio). A distinct nasopharyngeal immune response was observed in elderly patients, characterized by 80% unique signatures, higher B- and T-cell activation, increased type I IFN signaling, and reduced NK, Th17, and complement system activation, compared to similar outbreaks. This unique immune response may explain the variant's epidemiological behavior and underscores the need for nasal vaccine strategies against emerging variants.

Reflection of Crew Resource Management (CRM) Trainings to Real-Life Field Practice in Air Passenger Transportation: A Qualitative Research

In the air transportation sector, flight safety stands as one of the foremost values. To ensure safety, airlines rely on Crew Resource Management (CRM) training. These training programs aim to foster coordination, communication, and awareness among all personnel involved in flight operations, encouraging rational responses to potential issues as a unified team. Naturally, as is the case with any training process, the practical applicability of CRM training alongside its theoretical structure is of paramount importance. Hence, this study, conducted within the framework of qualitative research, delves into the perspectives of cabin crew members regarding CRM training by evaluating its content, benefits, and real-life field applications. Employing interview-based methodology, qualitative data were gathered from 19 cabin crew participants through purposive sampling. The collected data underwent descriptive analysis, leading to certain conclusions. The findings illustrate that CRM training has a positive impact on emotional and knowledge management, communication skills, team collaboration, and a proactive approach in matters of safety. It underscores that CRM training significantly permeates into the realm of real-world applications—namely, flight operations. However, participants highlighted certain issues and emphasized the need for more practical, interactive, and participant-centered training methods for the enhancement of CRM training, aiming to address those concerns.

The extent of overtourism in some European locations using multi-criteria decision-making methods between 2014 and 2023

Purpose Overtourism has been identified as a significant global problem with numbers of negative externalities. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the establishment of a standard that objectively measures the extent of tourism to produce a dynamic ranking of selected European settlements, as there is a lack of studies using sophisticated statistical methods to analyse secondary data on overtourism. Design/methodology/approach The 28 selected sites, studied according to their involvement in overtourism, were ranked using multi-criteria decision-Mmaking Methods between 2014 and 2023. Rankings were calculated by VIKOR, TOPSIS and MMOORA, and an aggregate ranking was created by using the cross-entropy optimization. Additionally, the annual changes in the rankings were presented graphically using principal component analysis on a two-dimensional space, referred to as the “sites' space.” Finally, the sites were clustered into three distinct groups based on their level of overtourism: less, medium and more. This was achieved through the use of the K-means algorithm. Findings Following the onset of the pandemic in 2020, there was a notable decline in overtourism. However, following the year 2021, the numbers began to rise once more, and by 2022, they had returned to their pre-pandemic levels. Among the methods, MMOORA demonstrated the most effective performance in comparison to the optimal ranking. Originality/value The applied methods with novel rank aggregation could also shed light on the most relevant indicators to overtourism. These included the number of nights spent in paid accommodation per population, the number of overnight visits per population and the number of air passengers.

Research on low energy joint optimization of dynamic thermal environment coupled with passenger cabin and air conditioning systems

This study establishes a model for the coupling of passenger compartment and air-conditioning systems. The model takes human thermal comfort as the evaluation index, which can achieve dynamic data exchange during the transient calculation process, and control the air-conditioning systems with the core goal of reducing energy consumption. The optimal air supply angle and air distribution ratio were analyzed using this model. When the external environment changes, the air supply parameters corresponding to the lowest energy consumption are analyzed based on the air conditioning system with optimal air supply angle and air distribution ratio. The results show that the best direct blowing position is the neck. When the air distribution ratio of the driver's left air outlet is 25 %, the overall thermal comfort value of the dummy is the best. The overall thermal comfort of the dummy was maintained at the optimal value with an air speed of 8 m/s for dynamic external environments, but this air speed was not the lowest energy consumption. Subsequently, under the premise of maintaining the comfort of the dummy, the fitted curves of the air supply speed that minimizes the energy consumption are obtained by comparing the energy consumption under different air supply speeds.

Influence of Delegating Leadership on Employee Performance at the International Airports in Kenya

The type of stewardship engaged by the senior management of a firm has a direct bearing on the employee performance. There is no ideal style of leadership that fits all organizations and hence the top echelon has to select the most appropriate bearing that will drive the firm in the desired direction and bear the sought after outcomes. Several airports in Africa today continue to experience low employee performance as a result of the type of leadership selected by the top management and hence the need for diligence when picking the type of stewardship to be deployed in African Airports. This paper sought to establish the influence of delegation on employee performance at four international airports in Kenya, namely: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi; Moi International Airport, Mombasa; Kisumu International Airport and Eldoret International Airport. Positivism philosophy was preferred in this study because it advocates for the use of accurate and verifiable evidence that is free from assumptions and opinions of the researcher. A survey research was used to conduct the study. The respondents were first line; middle level and senior level managers of the five departments involved in the processing of air passengers within the four international airports in Kenya. These were; airport security employees, port health and quarantine services employees, passenger airlines operating within the four international airports in Kenya employees, immigration and border control employees and finally the customs services employees. Data was gathered from primary sources using self-administered structured questionnaires. The data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. From the Linear regression, the value of p was established as p<.05 (p value of 0.00 and ꞵ=0.474) and therefore the null hypothesis was rejected indicating that delegation has a significant impact on employee performance.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Other Communicable Diseases Identified Among Evacuees From Afghanistan Arriving in Virginia and Pennsylvania, August to September 2021.

In 2021, the US government undertook Operation Allies Welcome, in which evacuees from Afghanistan arrived at 2 US ports of entry in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Because of the rapid evacuation process, the US government granted evacuees an exemption to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirement in place at that time-namely, that air passengers present a negative SARS-CoV-2 viral test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they boarded international flights bound for the United States. This study describes cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection detected among 65 068 evacuees who arrived at the 2 ports of entry in August and September 2021. Because evacuees were a population at increased risk for infection with diseases of public health concern, CDC staff helped coordinate on-site and on-arrival testing, visually observed evacuees for signs and symptoms of communicable disease, and referred evacuees for further evaluation and treatment as needed. CDC staff used antigen or nucleic acid amplification tests at the ports of entry to evaluate evacuees aged ≥2 years without documentation of recent SARS-CoV-2 infection. CDC staff isolated evacuees with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and quarantined their close contacts, consistent with CDC guidance at the time, before evacuees rejoined the repatriation process. Of 65 068 evacuees, 214 (0.3%) were confirmed as having SARS-CoV-2 infection after port-of-entry testing. Cases of measles, varicella, pertussis, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, malaria, leishmaniasis, and diarrheal illness were also identified. Although the percentage of SARS-CoV-2 infection was low in this evacuated population, communicable disease detection at US ports of entry, along with vaccination efforts, was an important part of a multilayered approach to mitigate the transmission of disease in congregate housing facilities and into US communities.

Flight Schedule Optimization Considering Fine-Grained Configuration of Slot Coordination Parameters

In response to the rapid growth of air passenger and cargo transportation services and the sharp increase in congestion at various airports, it is necessary to optimize the allocation of flight schedules. On the basis of reducing the total airport delay time and ensuring the total deviation of flight schedules applied by airlines, it is necessary to consider finely configuring flight schedules with slot coordination parameters, introducing a 5 min slot coordination parameter, and optimizing airport flight schedules in different time periods. This article considers factors such as flight schedule uniqueness, corridor flow restrictions, and time adjustment range limitations to establish a three-objective flight-schedule refinement configuration model, which is solved using the NSGA-II algorithm based on the entropy weight method. Taking Beijing Capital International Airport as an example, the optimized results show that the total flight delay was reduced from 4130 min to 1142 min, and the original delay of 389 flights was reduced to 283 flights. Therefore, flight schedule optimization considering the fine-grained configuration of slot coordination parameters can effectively reduce airport delays, fully utilize time resources, and reduce waste of time slot resources.

Air passenger carbon offset and carbon neutrality strategies: Implementation mechanism by convolutional neural network

To more effectively address the issue of carbon emissions in the aviation industry, this study first analyzes the current development status of carbon offset and carbon neutrality strategies in the aviation industry, as well as examines the existing relevant research findings. Then, optimizations are made to the Convolutional Neural Network to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the prediction model. These optimizations include architectural improvements, the use of attention mechanisms to more accurately focus on important features, as well as the adoption of multiscale feature extraction and advanced optimization algorithms to enhance the model's learning ability and convergence speed. These comprehensive improvements not only enhance the model's generalization ability but also significantly improve its applicability in complex environments. Finally, by comparing the performance of Transformer Networks, Graph Convolutional Networks, Capsule Networks, Generative Adversarial Networks, Temporal Convolutional Networks, and the proposed optimization algorithm on datasets of airline carbon emissions and fuel usage, the performance of the proposed optimization algorithm is validated through comparison of accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score calculated from the data. Simultaneously, simulation experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed optimization algorithm by comparing prediction stability, strategy adaptability, response time, and long-term effectiveness. The experimental results show that the accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score of the proposed optimized model reach up to 0.942, 0.967, 0.951, and 0.934 respectively, all higher than those of the compared models, validating the good performance of the proposed optimized model. In the comparison of simulation experiments, the scores of prediction stability and strategy adaptability of the proposed optimized model reach up to 0.944 and 0.953 respectively, much higher than those of other models. The response time is only 0.04s when the data volume is 1000, and the computational advantage of the proposed optimized model becomes more apparent with the increase in data volume. In the comparison of long-term effectiveness, the advantage of the proposed optimized model in this aspect also becomes more obvious with the increase in data volume. Through simulation experiments, the performance of the model in actual application scenarios is further evaluated to ensure its practicability. Therefore, this study not only provides a new optimization tool for carbon emission strategies in the aviation industry but also has certain significance for research on environmental sustainability.

Air Passenger Rights Case Law Developments from 1 December 2023 to 15 June 2024

From 1 December 2023 to 15 June 2024, there have been several case developments in relation to air passenger rights. The first part of this article highlights recent decisions from the Court of Justice of the European Union that have shed light on the interpretation of EU Regulation No 261/2004, Package Travel Directive (EU) 2015/2302 and Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts.In the case Laudamotion GmbH v. flightright GmbH the Court stressed the standardized nature of compensation for a flight delay and held that for compensation claims under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 due to a significant flight delay, passengers must adhere to the check-in requirements specified by the airline, even if they have already completed online check-in.In the case Eventmedia Soluciones SL v. Air Europa Líneas Aéreas SAU, the Court defined the rules governing the inclusion, in a contract of carriage, of a clause prohibiting the transfer of rights by passengers and the right of claim management companies to bring proceedings against airlines. In the case Cobult UG v. TAP Air Portugal SA (TAP), the Court clarified the rules applicable to passengers’ consent to the reimbursement of the cost of their ticket by a travel voucher rather than by a sum of money. In the case Touristic Aviation Services Limited (TAS) v. Flightright GmbH, the Court ruled that the shortage of staff at the airport responsible for baggage handling could be considered an extraordinary circumstance, provided the airline could demonstrate that they had taken all reasonable measures to prevent the delay.In the case QM v. Kiwi Tours GmbH, the Court held that to establish the existence of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances significantly impacting the performance of a travel package, for the purpose of claiming a refund under Directive (EU) 2015/2302, only the situation prevailing on the date when the traveler terminated their travel contract should be considered. In the case Eventmedia Soluciones SL v. Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, the Court ruled on the fairness of clauses governing the assignment of rights by passengers to third parties under Directive 93/13/EEC on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts.

A study on the purchase intentions of air passengers for voluntary carbon offset programs: verification of message effect

A study on the purchase intentions of air passengers for voluntary carbon offset programs: verification of message effect

Exploring Cargo Potential of an Airport: Pre-Feasibility Study and Policy Recommendations for Hasan Polatkan Airport

Although air passenger transportation has grown steadily since liberalization movements, it has experienced a sharp decline with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, air cargo transportation has been relatively less affected by this crisis due to the increasing volume of e-commerce and the critical importance of supply chains. Air cargo positively affects the regional economy through the logistics and trade channels it provides. This study aims to investigate Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport's cargo transportation potential and make its pre-feasibility as an air cargo hub. In this context, as a case study, interviews were conducted with stakeholders regarding the cargo potential of Hasan Polatkan Airport, and qualitative data were obtained. The authors qualitatively analyzed the data, and the findings were compiled under two headings: findings on demand and findings on technical/operational requirements. Considering these findings, alternative business models are discussed, and different policy recommendations are provided.

A Fuzzy Inference System for Predicting Air Traffic Demand based on Socioeconomic Drivers

The past ten years have seen significant expansion in the aviation sector, which during the previous five years has steadily pushed emerging countries closer to economic independence. It is crucial to accurately forecast the potential demand for air travel to make long-term financial plans. To forecast market demand for low-cost passenger carriers, this study suggests working with low-cost airlines, airports, consultancies, and governmental institutions' strategic planning divisions. The study aims to develop an artificial intelligence-based methods, notably fuzzy inference systems (FIS), to determine the most accurate forecasting technique for domestic low-cost carrier demand in Bangladesh. To give end users real-world applications, the study includes nine variables, two sub-FIS, and one final Mamdani Fuzzy Inference System utilizing a Graphical User Interface (GUI) made with the app designer tool. The evaluation criteria used in this inquiry included mean square error (MSE), accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and specificity. The effectiveness of the developed Air Passenger Demand Prediction FIS is assessed using 240 data sets, and the accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and MSE values are 90.83%, 91.09%, 90.77%, and 2.09%, respectively.

Discrete Choice Model Applications for Air Passenger Airport Choices: A Literature Review

Airport development is a critical factor for regional growth, improving connectivity, and stimulating economic growth. Considering the complexity of planning and policy making in this area, multiple models and frameworks have been introduced to support decision-making processes. Among these, Discrete Choice Models (DCM) stand out for their capacity to project market flows, assess the validity and benefits of implementing airport modifications, tailor policies, improve the operations’ service level, and boost revenues. Given their extensive use and importance, a thorough review of DCM applications within the context of air transportation is both timely and necessary. This review organizes and evaluates the use of DCMs in air transport research. Both descriptive and predictive applications of DCMs are analyzed, focusing on choices related to airports and related levels, such as access mode and airline decisions. Each reviewed study is classified based on the type of model used, application context, data characteristics, employed variables, and methodological contributions. Through this analysis, six prevailing gaps are identified in the current state of DCM application in air transportation: improve data quality, enhance models with detailed trip and passenger information, explore advanced modeling techniques, incorporate general correlation and substitution structures, consider non-compensatory decision-making processes, and extend applications to new geographic and temporal contexts.

Methodological approaches to the functioning of the passenger transportation market: Airline, road and railway segments

Passenger transportation plays a critical role in ensuring efficient functioning of the economy, as it provides labour mobility, access to markets, cultural, and social services, and promotes the development of international tourism and social integration. Thus, the purpose of the research was to analyse methodological foundations of the functioning of the passenger transportation market and to assess the war impact on the condition and development of air, bus, and rail passenger transportation. With the help of the bibliographic method, key scientific papers have been analysed in the article to study the theoretical foundation and identify problematic issues, calling for improvement and development. Using the generalisation method, leading organisations, ensuring the functioning of the passenger transportation market, have been identified and summarised, and the general principles of its functioning have been formulated. Using comparative and grouping methods, methodological approaches to air, bus, and rail passenger transportation in the context of economic, regulatory, technological, ecological, and social foundations have been proposed. The necessary prerequisites for the effective functioning of the passenger transportation market have been determined by grouping the most significant aspects, such as liberalisation and competition, state regulation and standardisation, investments and innovations, as well as effective cooperation between stakeholders in the field of passenger transportation. Using tabular and graphical methods, the war impact on air, bus, and rail passenger transportation has been considered through the lens of the caused damage, the amount of destruction, and the necessary restoration and reduction of passenger traffic. The peculiarities of enterprise operation in wartime have been identified with the emphasis on strategically important features of functioning and development, and patterns in passenger transportation have been revealed with the help of the content analysis method. The results of the research can be useful for specialists in the field of passenger transportation and tourism when analysing the passenger transportation market, forming strategies, and considering development trends