Queueing theory: utilization above 80-85% creates exponential wait times.

Airports regularly operate at 90%+ during peaks.

The system is designed to run hot.

Full breakdown: open.substack.com/pub/luigisrs...

Evening Peak (4-8 PM): Baggage systems bottleneck. Arriving bags sort to carousels. Connecting bags transfer between flights. Missed connections require manual intervention. Handlers work at capacity.

Midday (10 AM-2 PM): Runway capacity becomes the primary constraint. Departures and arrivals compete for slots. Air traffic control sequences aircraft. Ground delays increase. Gates compress as inbound aircraft stack up.

Morning Peak (5-9 AM): Security checkpoints saturate first. TSA lanes can't scale fast enough. Passengers miss flights. Airlines delay departures waiting for passengers. Gate utilization suffers.

Airports are platforms for orchestrating concurrent, interdependent flows across physical, informational, and regulatory boundaries.

Understanding how they work means understanding how complex systems everywhere actually function.

New Piece: open.substack.com/pub/luigisrs...

This is a system operating within its design parameters.

And like all well-designed systems, it becomes invisible when it works and catastrophic when it fails.

Dubai isn't their destination — it's their waypoint. The hub that connects Mexico City to dozens of Asian cities that would otherwise require multiple stops or impossible economics.

3 hours later, the same aircraft pushes back as EK255. The reverse journey begins.

Baggage handler scans the first suitcase at 6:51 AM. Fuel truck connects at 6:53 AM. Cleaning crew boards at 6:54 AM. Catering arrives at 6:56 AM.

Meanwhile, 287 passengers disperse: Tech workers to Bangalore and Singapore, British tourists to the Maldives, folks visiting middle east.

287 deplaning passengers. thousands of gallons of jet fuel. 312 bags. 42 meal carts. 6 tons of cargo. 298 boarding passengers. Complete aircraft inspection.

None of these operations can start until others finish. None can fail without cascading delays.