CASE STUDY
Introducing new queue management set-up: How Swedavia managed to decrease peak demand for check-in counters despite an increase in passengers.
Stockholm Arlanda Airport
22 mill. passengers (2023)
147 Destinations
Stockholm Arlanda Airport is Sweden’s largest airport, and the third largest in the Nordic countries. The airport and is a gateway between Stockholm and other Swedish cities as well as the rest of the world. Stockholm Arlanda Airport is part of Swedavia, a Swedish airport operator, which owns and runs 10 Swedish airports.Â
Stockholm Arlanda Airport offers about 107 non-stop routes, of which 87 are abroad and 20 are domestic. In addition to the non-stop routes, they also have many charter destinations.
Introduction to the collaboration with Stockholm Arlanda Airport.
Swedavia, the operator of 10 Swedish airports, engaged with Copenhagen Optimization (CopOpt) to improve the passenger experience at check-in at Arlanda airport before summer 2016.
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The Challenge:
In the summer 2015, Arlanda struggled with flow gridlocks and significant queuing. The aim of engaging with Copenhagen Optimization was to support the Arlanda team in successfully making 2016 a better experience.
The Solution: Better Check-in
The project span over 4 months and included monthly workshops with the Arlanda team with representatives from the passenger, baggage, and capacity management teams. Copenhagen Optimization was leading the project and conducted in-depth analysis using a sophisticated check-in model including flows, queues, counters, and baggage constraints.
The outcome of the project was several initiatives which were implemented by the Arlanda team leading to a significant increase in the passenger experience at Arlanda in summer 2016. Queue management was implemented and the Arlanda airport team took over responsibility of all check-in area queue setups. As a result, airlines and handlers positively acknowledged the more active role the Arlanda team was playing in the check-in area.
Outcome achieved:
Decreased peak in counter demand by 3 counters despite an 8.5% increase in the passenger peak.
Queue management led to an estimated reduction in no. of passengers waiting in flow areas by approx. 200 passengers – a 35.5% reduction – while reducing queues stretching into the queue area by 16%.
Final thoughts
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