Models available for passenger traffic flow patterns at air terminals are reviewed, and a theoretical framework is proposed. Analogous models in other areas of engineering applications are investigated, and it has been attempted to take advantage of the prevailing experience in those fields. The relevance of the research into passenger flow distributions is explained and applications of such models described. The proposed model provides a sound starting point for queueing theory applications leading to analysis of congestion, delay, and travel times. The passenger behavioral aspects, such as the desire to reach the terminal early and apprehension related to missing flights, are taken into account. Data collected at Sydney International Airport have been used in comparison of the models.

This paper covers the model development phase of an ongoing research project carried out at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, into traffic flow distributions of airports. An in-depth discussion of modeling techniques available for handling the distribution of arrival and departure traffic on the road interface at airports is provided. Areas of application of the passenger arrival distribution, from the point of view of planners and traffic engineers, are described to highlight the relevance of this particular research project. The methodology developed in this paper has potential application to other types of modal interchanges where at least one mode is related to long-distance travel. In conventional transport planning, the land use activity pattern of transport demand centers is taken into account to determine the traffic generation and attraction characteristics related to the transport center. A similar approach can be readily adopted in modeling the traffic flow of modal interchanges. For example, in a work by Wirasinghe and Vandebona (1) a regression method provided a relationship between the size of mass-transit stations and the intensity of the access passenger demand. A better estimate of the passenger traffic demand, however, may be made by considering the interrelationship and transformation of traffic flows among various modes linked to the particular interchange. This paper covers the modeling aspects that characterize that phenomenon.