Methodical Approach to Determining the Capacity Utilisation of Airports: the Development of the European Air Traffic System Between 2008 and 2012
Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2014 DocumentID: 340138 METHODICAL APPROACH TO DETERMINING THE CAPACITY UTILISATION OF AIRPORTS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EUROPEAN AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEM BETWEEN 2008 AND 2012 C. Schinwald, Munich Aerospace, Faculty of aerospace engineering e.V., Lyonel-Feininger-Str. 28, 80807 Munich, Germany M. Hornung, Institute of Aircraft Design, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstr. 15, 85748 Garching, Germany Abstract The global air transport system has seen significant growth rates over recent decades. The exponential increase in passenger numbers were only interrupted by periods of stagnation caused by the negative effects of unpredictable crises. In the future, the total number of aircraft movements is expected to grow further at rates between 4 and 5% per year. As seen in the past, the growth of the air transportation sector is highly asymmetric, which means that it varies strongly from region to region. This forecasted increase in demand is mainly caused by the augmented travel needs of the world's population and the rising wealth of its peoples. Because airports and, more precisely, the runway systems usually represent the bottleneck of the entire air transport system, this paper will focus on these elements. Due to local constraints, many airports haven’t been able to expand their infrastructure at the same speed traffic has grown. Therefore, more and more airports are operating close to their maximum capacity. This development is confirmed by continuously increasing average delays. This paper demonstrates a methodical approach which allows the determining of the degree of capacity utilisation of an airport. The Basic Load Index (BLI) and the Peak Load Index (PLI) were defined as indicators for the capacity situation of an airport.
[Show full text]