The "Lorentzian-geometry-based analysis of airplane boarding policies" is a joint research between Dr. Eitan Bachmat, Dr. Rami Pugatch from the department of Industrial Engineering at BGU, and other scientists from universities in Norway and Latvia.
The research presents a mathematical analysis that uses the same geometrical model employed in Einstein's Theory of Relativity. It has recently acclaimed reporters' interest worldwide, after highlighting “slow passengers first" policy as better and suggesting that allowing slower airplane passengers to board first decreases total boarding time.
Based on that theory, the scientists created a model to simulate passengers trying to reach their seats. They predicted the passengers' speed based on their line position and row designation. The model calculated the average boarding time for passenger groups by gauging how long it would take each group to clear the plane's aisles. Results showed that boarding slow passengers first is up to 28% faster. Boarding time remained faster regardless of the percentage of slow passengers and how fast they cleared the aisles.
These findings could potentially inform airline boarding policies and affect travellers worldwide.
(Interview starts at time 20:30)
