The importance of air transportation to the development of a country and the growth of the Brazilian airline industry imply the need for an efficient management of the airports, aiming to balance the passenger demand and the capacity of the system. Thus, this paper presents a System Dynamics model in order to assist airport management to evaluate the size of the subsystems of an airport, such as Passenger Terminals, Runways, and Patios. Using data on air passenger demand, average number of passengers per flight, peak-hour demand, service level of the passenger terminal, and average time in the patio, this paper analyzes the situation of the thirteen Brazilian airports. Finally, by comparing the simulation data with the installed capacity, this paper classifies the situation of each subsystem of the airports studied into three categories: adequate, worrying, and critical. Among the main results obtained, we can highlight different factors, such as the subsystem that presents the best condition (the Runway), while the Passenger Terminal is the one in the worst condition. The investments and the capacity increases are insufficient to meet the passenger demand in the peak-hour with an annual growth rate of 5%.
Airport; Demand Management; System Dynamics; Simulation
