Modeling and simulation of passenger mass violence event derived from irregular flights in the airport terminal

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and access the extent that emotion contagion (EC) affects the passenger aggressive behavior, and then reveal key factors triggering the passenger mass violence event (MVE) under an irregular flight situation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the group behaviors simulation framework based on multi-agent. The EC model is put forward to explore the EC effect among passengers, integrating the influence of intervention measures, power difference and intimacy. Moreover, the authors propose the aggressive behavior decision-making model tailed to the passenger MVE by combining the improved social force model and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system.

Findings

The experiment results show that the method proposed in this paper can simulate the realistic evolution process of passenger MVE .The EC effect among passengers is the catalyst for the quick spreading of MVE. The intervention measures, such as providing food and endorsing service, can effectively prevent from the MVE situation deterioration.

Originality/value

The research of this paper has important practical significance for the evolution analysis of passenger MVE and provides the basis for airport safety management.

Citation

Shao, Q., Xiong, L., Meng, J. and Songchen, H. (2014), "Modeling and simulation of passenger mass violence event derived from irregular flights in the airport terminal", Kybernetes, Vol. 43 No. 9/10, pp. 1512-1528. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-03-2014-0064