Airport Operation The future requirement of a new, large aircraft with the capability of carrying 500 to 1000 passengers has been a major topic in the past few years. This issue has attracted huge concerns from various stakeholders in the aviation industry, especially aircraft manufacturers and airlines. The concerns are partly attributed to the fact that such an aircraft will weigh more than 1 million pounds. With the delivery of these kinds of aircrafts expected to commence in the 5 to 10 years, there have been numerous concerns regarding the impact of new, larger aircraft on airport operation, particularly airport management. These concerns are attributed to the effect of such an aircraft on airport design and frequency of airport pavement replacement and repairs, impact on taxiway and apron separations, effect on gate capacity and baggage handling operations, and impact on aircraft servicing operations.

Background

The introduction of the Boeing 747 by the Boeing Aircraft Corporation nearly thirty years ago was the first larger than the typical aircraft. In order to introduce this aircraft, Boeing Aircraft Corporation upgraded its standards and guidance material that would culminate in the development of this aircraft ("Impact of New Large Aircraft on Airport Design," 1998). The introduction of this new large aircraft resulted in the review of various terminals, pavement design, taxiway, and runway criteria. The review was mainly geared towards identifying conflicts or problems that would emerge from the development and introduction of the aircraft. The launch of the Boeing 777 in the past few years has necessitated similar upgrades and reviews in order to accommodate the large aircraft.

In the modern aviation industry, the development of new larger aircraft is being surveyed by various airlines like Airbus, Boeing, and McDonnell Douglas. These companies are exploring the development of these kinds of aircrafts because of the desire to enhance their competitiveness in a certain transport aircraft market. However, plans for the development and subsequent launch of a new, larger aircraft have emerged as a major concern for airlines and aircraft manufacturers. The concerns are attributed to the fact that new larger aircraft will considerably be greater in width, length, and height. This implies that the new larger aircraft will be greater and bigger than every dimension of the current aircrafts. The launch of this type of aircraft will certainly contribute to numerous changes in airport design, aircraft servicing operations, taxiway and apron separations, and gate capacity and baggage handling operations in order to accommodate the new aircraft.

Problem or Situation

While the development and introduction of a new larger aircraft will transform the aviation industry and generate numerous benefits, the main issue or problem with such aircrafts is that they will have considerable impacts on airport management. This problem is attributed to the fact that aircraft characteristics play a crucial role in airport planning and management (Barros & Wirasinghe, 1997). Generally, the airport airside and landside planning are usually based on and influenced by the operating characteristics of the aircraft to be operated at the airport. On the airport airside, particular aircrafts determine the length and width of the runway, the minimum division between runways and taxiways, the pavement strength, and projection of taxiways. Moreover, the airport airside is also characterized by environmental issues like air and noise pollution that are based on the aircraft which will utilize the airport. With regards to landside planning, the characteristics of the aircraft influence the size and number of gates as well as the configuration of the terminal. Moreover, the capability of the aircraft passenger will have considerable impacts of the kind and size of facilities within the terminal as well as baggage handling system. Therefore, the creation of the new aircraft is an important element of airport operation and planning. The significance is based on the impact of new larger aircraft on various aspects including

Impact on Airport Design and Frequency of Airport Pavement Replacement and Repairs

One of the areas with which a new larger aircraft affects airport management is through its effects on airport design and frequency of airport pavement replacement and repairs. The new larger aircraft contributes to new runway length requirement as the actual runway length requirement. Moreover, runway length limitation because of landing performance is increasingly unlikely because of the size of the new larger aircraft. However, given the widespread land availability limitations, the existing runway requirements are less likely to change in order to contain new aircraft. Secondly, the new larger aircraft will contribute to changes in runways -- taxiways layout, especially the size of and separation between runways and taxiways. This is primarily because...

A new larger aircraft to operate in an airport implies that there will be higher requirements for dimensions and separations of the runways and taxiways.
The impact of a new larger aircraft on airport design implies that there will be need for modifications on airfield design, especially the configuration and dimensions of aprons, runways, and taxiways. The introduction of this aircraft will result in review of existing airport coding systems such as airport classification system, apron design, airfield geometric design, and pavement design (Chiu & Walton, 2003). The new larger aircraft will also impact air traffic control given the increase in the minimum separation requirement between aircraft that is approaching an airport.

The new larger aircraft will increase the frequency of airport pavement replacement and repairs. The increased frequency of these aspects is attributed to the fact that the aircraft will contribute to changes in pavement design. The current pavement design methodologies for Boeing 777 airplane can be utilized in the design and assessment of pavement for a new larger aircraft as well (Chiu & Walton, 2003). In relation to pavement design, the aircraft will necessitate stronger and thicker pavement and particular design standards given the substantial increase in size of the aircraft. Without the stronger and thicker pavement designs, there will be more airport pavement replacement and repairs because the aircraft will be heavier.

Impact on Taxiway and Apron Separations

Apart from effects on airport design and increased frequency of airport pavement replacement and repairs, the new larger aircraft will have considerable effects on taxiway and apron separations. First, this aircraft will affect current design standards for airport taxiways because of its size. If the current taxiway design standards are retained, the aircraft will not function without interfering with safety areas of neighboring terminal areas, runways, and taxiways. Therefore, the effective operation of this aircraft will require widening or relocation of taxiways or limiting its operations to specific periods of low traffic in order to enhance airport safety and provide enough clearance.

Secondly, the new larger aircraft will necessitate the development of new clearance standards with regards to apron separation clearances. Even though the existing apron separation clearance standards for gate type D will offer adequate clearance for this aircraft, new clearance standards must be developed for new gate type in order to accommodate the aircraft. The development of new apron separation clearance standards will be fueled by fact that terminals with certain concepts like parallel pier will not provide enough space for the aircraft to navigate concurrently on dual taxi lanes. The impact on apron separation clearance standards is mainly based on the impact of the new larger aircraft on apron design, which incorporates other elements like gate requirements, gate type identification system, and ground servicing systems. The achievement of the necessary taxiways, runways, and apron separations will be the major challenge to airports following the introduction of the new aircraft (Burns & McDonnell, 2001).

Impact on Gate Capacity and Baggage Handling Operations

Gate capacity and baggage handling operations will be considerably impacted by the new larger aircraft because current standards will be relatively unable to accommodate the aircraft. Given that the new aircraft will carry between 500 and 1000 passengers, gate capacity will significantly increase because of the increase in the number of passengers. The increase in gate capacity will be based on gate occupancy time, which determines the number of gates and planning of passenger terminal. Notably, the gate occupancy time is usually affected and determined by the size of the aircraft. As a result, the new larger aircraft will result in increase in gate occupancy time, which will in turn necessitate an increase in the number of gates in an airport (Barros & Wirasinghe, 1997). Airports will need to increase their number of gates in order to provide adequate minimum boarding time for passengers and maintain an effective turnaround time following the introduction of the new larger aircraft.

As the number of passengers increases because of the new larger aircraft, baggage handling operations will become increasingly challenging and sometimes sophisticated. Generally, more passengers mean more baggage, which also implies increase work in handling the baggage. Airports will need to develop new measures for baggage handling since current standards may be insufficient to meet the ever-increasing needs of passengers. In order to enhance baggage handling operations, airports will need to modify passenger loading bridges, public corridors, and…