Agent-based simulation of passenger-centric disruption management for multimodal airport access

Efficient and seamless airport access is a critical yet often overlooked process of airport operations. Strong connectivity, especially during disruption periods, significantly reduces passenger delays and potential revenue losses. Tackling these challenges demands coordinated disruption management strategies. To that end, we model coordination in a system comprising two traffic orchestrators, each responsible for managing their respective domains: airside and landside. The airside orchestrator can implement tactical flight delays, while the landside orchestrator can apply rerouting to assist passengers at-risk of missing their flights. Through negotiation between these orchestrators, the approach aims to minimize missed flights and passenger delays, while also exploring a fair distribution of costs. The negotiation process is structured using a game-theoretic framework, and an agent-based simulation is used to evaluate the effects on airport operations. A case study demonstrates the effectiveness of these measures in enhancing airport operations while balancing costs.