6.

AIRPORT PLANNING
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6.1 THE AIRPORT SYSTEM
The planning of an airport is such a complex process that the
analysis of one activity without regard to the effect on other
activities will not provide acceptable solutions. An airport
encompasses a wide range of activities which have different
and often conflicting requirements; yet they are
interdependent so that a single activity may limit the capacity
of the whole complex.
The ‘’airport system’’ is shown in Figure 6.1. It is divided into
two major components: the ‘’airside’’ and the ‘’landside’’.
The terminal buildings form the division between the
components. Within the system, the characteristic of the
vehicles, both ground and air, have a large influence on
planning. The passengers and shipped of goods are
interested primarily in the overall door-to-door time and not
just the duration of the air journey. For this reason access to
airports is also an important consideration in planning.
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6.2 AIRPORT MASTER PLAN

Definition: ‘’An airport master plan is a concept of the
ultimate development of an airport.’’ The term
‘’development’’ includes the entire airport area, both for
aviation and non-aviation uses and use of land adjacent
to the airport.
6.2.1 OBJECTIVES
‘’The overall objectives of the airport master plan is to
provide guidelines for future development which will
satisfy aviation demand and be compatible with the
environment, community development and other modes
of transportation.’’ More specifically it is a guide for:
1. Developing physical facilities of an airport,
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2. Developing land in and adjacent to the airport,
3. Determining the environmental effects of airport
construction and operation,
4. Establishing access requirements,
5. Establishing the economic and financial feasibility of
proposed developments,
6. Establishing a schedule of priorities and phasing for the
improvements proposed in the plan.
Airport planning is based upon a multitude of procedures
and criteria for evaluating needs (many of which remain
intuitive), ranking priorities and alternatives, and then
justifying the selected alternatives.
6.2.2 CONTENT OF A MASTER PLAN
The content of an airport master plan varies depending on
specific location; however it should include at least the
following items:
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[Link] INVENTORY
The initial step in the preparation of a master plan is the
collection of data on existing airport facilities and area wide
planning efforts. State and regional transportation authorities
should be consulted as they may be sources of valuable
data.
[Link] FORECAST OF DEMAND
The forecast must include aircraft operation number of
passengers, volume of cargo, mail and vehicular traffic. The
forecast must be made not only on an annual basis but also
for the busiest hours of the day.
[Link] DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO
REASONABLY SATISFY FORECASTED DEMAND
Each alternative solution must take into account such factors
as impact on the environment, safety and economics.
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[Link] DETERMINATION OF THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

[Link] FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY

[Link] ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ALTERNATIVE

SOLUTIONS
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6.2.3 AIR TRAFFIC FORECASTS

Airports require rather large investments tied to the ground;
therefore careful and comprehensive planning is vital, before
site selection, design and construction, to decide the type and
size of the airport needed, and the principles and standards of
airport zoning to be applied.
Applying regional planning principles, an area airport plan must be
prepared. Each airport need is to be considered as an integral
part of the national network of airports, and it should be
connected to the general transportation system of the region.
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To forecast the future air traffic and to decide the standard of

airport needed, the following factors are to be considered:
1- Size, structure, distribution, growth and characteristics of
population.
2- Disposable personnel income (purchasing power)
available per capita.
3- General economic character of the area, status and type of
industries and business,
4- Geographical distribution of traffic creating factors, such as
manufacturing and service industries, commerce,
recreation, tourism and adjoining areas.
5- Competitive position of air transportation (and air fares)
with alternative modes of transportation,
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6- Sociological factors:
a. Degree of urbanization
b. Mobility of the population
c. Level of education
d. Availability of leisure time, longer weekend
7- Political factors, such as agreement with foreign
countries for new airlines or for additional flights.
Forecasting methods may be summarized as follows:
1- Mechanical extrapolations (graphical method )
2- Surveys about future trends
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3- Analytical forecasts, e.g N2=N1(1+r)^n

4- Judgment forecasts, by competent individuals (by
experience and intuition)
The more complex techniques relate demand to a number
of social, economic, and technological factors that affect
air travel.
• A relationship between social, technological, and
economic variables on one hand and travel demand on
the other is called a ‘’demand model’’. This model can be
used to forecast air traffic.
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Not only the annual or daily volumes, but also the peak
hour passenger, cargo volumes and aircraft movements
are to be considered to determine the terminal building,
design of loading and unloading ramps, runways,
taxiways, aprons etc.
Depending on the peak characteristics and the importance
of airport, design peak hour may be chosen somewhere
between the 25th and the 40th peak hour. It is not fixed
as 30th peak hour (as it is generally used for highways).
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6.2.4 AIRPORT SITE SELECTION

The location of an airport will be influenced by the following

factors:

1. Airport planning
a- Airport standards
b- Airport master plans
c- Air traffic forecasts
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d- Characteristics of the design airplane and other aircrafts
that may use the airport
e- Range of trip (trip length)
f- Future trends of aircraft operations and air traffic control
procedures
g- Airport capacities and cost-benefit analysis
h- Surrounding area
i- Reserve land for future developments
j- Area-airport plan
k- Site selection process
l- Zoning
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2. Accessibility to the airport site

a- Highway access
b- Public mass transportation (rail, bus, rapid transit,
subway etc.)
c- Helicopter service
d- Use of STOL (Short take off and landing) aircraft
e- Airport type and access distance
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3. Operational and safety requirements
a- Atmospheric conditions (wind data and other
atmospheric information)
b- Air space
c- Obstructions
d- Hazard and nuisance (noise and vibration, maneuvering,
bird hazard, pollution etc.)
e- Airport size (runway length, number of runways, size of
aprons, services to be provided, reserve land,
environmental conditions etc.)
f- Navigational facilities
g- STOL ports
h- Special future aircraft(supersonic and hypersonic
aircraft, use of atomic energy, fluid hydrogen etc)
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4. Geological factors
5. Cost of development
a- Cost of land
b- Cost of access
c- Cost of construction (topography, soils, availability of
construction materials, grading, utilities)
6. Cost of operation and maintenance of the airport
7. Expected revenue from the proposed airport
8. Miscellaneous considerations (protection of
archaeological remains, natural resources, ecology etc)
Aeronautical and operational requirements are the most
important considerations in airport site selection: safety of
the passengers, crew and the people on the ground and
residents near the airport are more important than anything
else.
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6.3 AIRPORT CONFIGURATION

Airport configuration is defined as the number and
orientation of runways and the location of the terminal
area relative to the runways. The number of runways
depends on the direction of the wind and sometimes on
the size of the area available for airport development.
The terminal buildings serving passengers should be
located so as to provide easy and short access to the
runways.
6.3.1 RUNWAYS:
In general, the runways and the connecting taxiways
should be arranged so as to:
1. Provide adequate separation in the air traffic pattern
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2. Cause the least interference and delay in the landing,

taxing and take – off operations
3. Provide the shortest taxi distance possible from terminal
area to the ends of runways
4. Provide adequate taxiways so landing aircraft can leave
the runway as quickly as possible and follow routes as
short as possible to the terminal area.
At busy airports, holding or run – up aprons should be
provided adjacent to the take – off ends of runways.
These aprons should be designed to accommodate
three or possible four aircraft of the maximum size
anticipated, with sufficient space for aircraft to bypass
one another.
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[Link] RUNWAY CONFIGURATIONS:

Many runway configurations exist. Most configurations are
combinations of several basic configurations. The basic
configurations are:
1. Single runways
2. Parallel runways
3. Intersecting runways
4. Open – V runways
These are shown in Figure.6.2
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[Link].1 Single Runway:
This is the simplest of runway configurations and is shown
in Figure 6.1 and Figure 6.2. It has been estimated that
the hourly capacity of single runway in VFR conditions is
somewhere between 45 and 100 operations per hour,
while in IFR conditions the capacity is reduced to 40 or
50 operations depending on the composition of the
aircraft mix and on the navigation aids available.
[Link].2 Parallel Runways:
The capacities of parallel runway systems depend a great
deal on the number of runways and on the spacing
between the runways. Two and four parallel runways are
common. There are a few airports with three parallel
runways.
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If the terminal buildings are placed between two parallel

runways, they are always spaced far apart to allow room
for the buildings, the adjoining apron, and the
appropriate taxiways.
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[Link].3 Intersecting Runways:

Intersecting runways are necessary when relatively strong
winds blow from more than one direction resulting in
excessive crosswinds when only one runway is provided.
When the winds are strong only one runway of a pair of
intersecting runways can be used, reducing the capacity of
the airfield substantially.

If the winds are relatively light, both runways can be used

simultaneously. The capacity of to intersecting runways
depends a great deal on the location of the intersecting (e.g.
midway or near the ends) and the way the runways are
operated, referred to as “strategy” (e.g. take – off or landing).
This is illustrated in Figure. 6.2e to g. “e” case gives the
highest capacity.
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[Link].4 Open – V Runways:
Runways in divergent directions which do not intersect are
referred to as “open – V runways”. This configuration is shown
in Figure. 6.2h and i like intersecting runways, open – V
runways revert to a single runway when the winds are strong
from one direction. When the winds are light both runways
can be used simultaneously. The strategy which yields the
highest capacity is when the operations are away from the V
(Figure. 6.2h).
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6.3.2 TAXIWAYS:
The principal function of taxiways is to provide access from the
runways to the terminal area and service hangars. Taxiways
should be arranged so that aircraft which have just landed do
not interfere with aircraft taxiing to take – off. At busy airports
where taxiing traffic is expected to move simultaneously in
both directions, parallel one – way taxiways should be
provided. Routes should be selected which will result in the
shortest practicable distances form the terminal area to the
ends of runways used for take – off.

At busy airports taxiways should be located at various points

along runways, so landing aircraft can leave the runways as
quickly as possible to clear them for use by other aircraft;
these are commonly referred to as “exit taxiways” or
“turnoffs”. Whenever possible, taxiways should be routed so
as to avoid crossing of active runways.
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6.3.3 HOLDING APRONS:

Holding aprons, often referred to as “run – up” or “warm – up”
pads are necessary at or very near the ends of runways for
piston aircraft to make final checks prior to take – off and for
all type of aircraft to wait for take – off clearance. These
aprons are made large enough so that if an aircrafts unable
to take – off because of some malfunction, another aircraft
ready to take – off can bypass it.
A holding apron should be designed to accommodate two to
four aircraft and to allow sufficient space for one aircraft and
to bypass another. The area allotted for a waiting aircraft will
depend on its size and maneuverability. A satisfactory
method for establishing size is by the use of plastic models
of aircraft.
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6.3.4 HOLDING BAYS:

Holding bays are relatively small apron placed at a
convenient location in the airport for the temporary
storage of aircraft. At some airports the number of gates
may be insufficient to handle the demand during a busy
period of the day. If this is the case, aircraft one routed
by air traffic control to a holding bay and one held there
until a gate becomes available. Holding bays are not
required if capacity matches demand; however,
fluctuations in future demand are difficult to predict so
that a temporary storage facility may be necessary.
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6.3.5 RELATION OF TERMINAL AREA TO RUNWAYS:

The key to a desirable airport layout is to provide the shortest
taxiing distances from the terminal area to the take – off ends
of runways and to shorten the taxiing distances for landing
aircraft as much as practicable. This can be illustrated
schematically by the sketches shown in Figure. 6.3.
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