SIMULATION STUDY OF AN AUTOMATED AIR CARGO TERMINAL

Super Terminal 1, the main terminal of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) located at the south east corner of the Hong Kong International Airport, is a US$1 billion investment and it is the largest air cargo terminal of the busiest airport in the world. This 6-storey infrastructure consist a complex array of interconnected computer controlled material handling systems. This paper illustrates the use of simulation modeling as a planning tool for service improvement of this world-class automated air cargo terminal. The objective of the simulation is to substantiate the value of service improvement initiatives. The results from the simulation model were used to quantify and assess the impact before implementation of these service improvement initiatives. A simulation model of the existing operation was built and validated. Experiments were performed by transforming operational orders of typical days into input orders under assumptions of different "what-if' scenarios