Aviation and Airport Management - Case Study Example

Airport Planning By Student’s Name Course Tutor Institution Department Date INTRODUCTION Airport planning is the systematic process in which established guidelines are used for the development of the airports efficiently and which coincides with the set goals at local, state and national levels. One of the critical objectives that relate to airport planning includes the effective use of the resources available for the airport to meet and satisfy the needs of the aviation demand in a manner that is financially feasible[The08]. The extent of airport planning can have a broad based system known as national plan system or have a more central focus on referred to as a master plan which is specific for certain airports. The types of airports are primarily grouped into National System Planning (NPIAS), State Airport System Planning (SASP), Metropolitan Airport System Planning and Airport Master Planning. The process of airport planning at both local and international level require the input and feedback of the stakeholders who play a major role in the consultation or coordination of the planning. The stakeholders are responsible for the success or failure of an airport planning, and their feedback on current situations that relate to airport planning are essential for the assessment of the airport efficiency and competency in the exploitation of the limited resources within the airport. The growth or failure of an airport, on its planning, mainly depends on the ability of the stakeholders to accept or refuse a policy or decision for the development of aviation and non-aviation facilities. PLANNING ENQUIRY [PX] AT LONDON CITY AIRPORT A public inquiry has the characteristics of an adversarial forum with similarities to a law court. In the airport industry, there are three types of a public inquiry in which people can participate only two and observe in all of them. A planning investigation and an examination of DPD (Development Plan Document) are two of the inquiry in which the public can both observe and participate in the process whereas a public examination of Regional Spatial Strategy only allows observation from the public. There was a Planning Inquiry at the London City Airport where the stakeholders came together to discuss their fears brought about by the Airport planning process in the region. The stakeholders of airport planning are the ‘public’ in this case, and their feedback from the planning inquiry at London airport was as follows: 1 London City Airport representatives The city airport representatives, as stakeholders, play the role of information dissemination on facts and figures that relate to the process of airport planning. The environmental, economic and social effects of airport planning are almost always the critical points of discussion when it comes to the information provided by the representatives of the airport. The Information needs to address the issues mentioned above to satisfy the other stakeholders. The London City Airport planning saw the airport bring facts, numbers, and lots of promises, which was encouraging to some of the stakeholders, and it was not impressive to the others. They highlighted the noise pollution issues, showed understanding and the will to do their best to reduce the noise as much as possible using new technology. The ability of the airport to recognize and tackle the issues around environmental and social factors shows their level of commitment to the other stakeholders. 2 The Community groups The most important stakeholders in the process of airport planning include the community in which the airport plans to construct, develop or expand an airport. The community groups in most cases are concerned with local matters of the surrounding region where an airport plan is set out. During the planning inquiry at London City Airport, the community group had a strong opinion regarding the land that they might lose for the expansion, the time of traffic, the instruction work that might affect the houses[Met12]. The reprehensive asked if the community will be compensated and that was one of the promises given by the airport representatives. The representation of the community would be regarding employment during the development process as construction crew and after completion in sectors attendants, air hostess, pilots, and engineers. 3 The Environmental groups The group has concerns mostly on the environmental effect on the land and animals of the surrounding. They establish measures that govern the airport on issues environmental and help preserve the environment in the process[Gho90]. During the planning inquiry at London, they were negative toward the idea in general; they had concerns about the water vapor and clouds which are understandable because it has significant radiative effects on climate and directly influences tropospheric chemistry. Raised concerns about the wildlife that would get affected by the expansion, and that gave an idea to one of the local businesses representatives who turned it from negative to positive. The idea was to build a safe environment for the animals and use it as a new city attraction, which is beneficial in many ways, there would be new jobs, income to the city and most importantly the animals will be safe. 4 Local businesses The local businesses are the ones that stand a chance to benefit or loose in the industry or relating industries when an airport plan starts the development process. They also help sustain the airports in the form of hotels, lodges, shops and means of transport. The inquiry at London saw the local businesses come to the debate open minded and positive and lived up to their name, which is business, they helped convincing other stakeholders to agree to the expansion[Ral90]. The Local business was creative with their ideas and solution, for example, they asked if they could rent a space inside the terminal for their business. Asked the airlines if they are willing to promote the city attractions and business to their customers. The local businesses are important in the promotion or demotion of an idea to materialize in the small ecosystem that surrounds transportation, food, and accommodation which are basic in the airline industry and thus need to be heard and action is taken to address an issues or concern. 5 The Airlines One of the major stakeholder in the airport planning process and who stands to lose the most in the case of failure of the plan. They are responsible for the growth or decline of the airport with the set strategies, processes and programs to observe, find and address issues before they blow out of proportion. During the airport planning inquiry, the airlines did not have much to complain. However, they had to answer questions such as: how will they guarantee business contracts with local business? How would they contribute to a green and healthier environment? Will they give priority to the city for jobs? Which? The above questions determine the level of seriousness of the airlines to the stakeholders involved in airport planning[Joh08]. Conclusion The stakeholders at the airport planning inquiry presented their views and opinions on the expansion process of the London City Airport. The airline together with the London city representatives, in their effort to achieve expansion of their airport, and as stakeholders, need to meet the requirements set aside by the other stakeholders especially an environmentally friendly and conducive working place. Also, they should ensure the preservation of wildlife as per the requirement of the environmental groups and offer job opportunities for the local businesses. Finally, they should guarantee that the surrounding community is either compensated or not affected by the airport processes or programs regarding the loss of land, noise, and a healthy environment for living in[Kum14]. CHALLENGES FACING PLANNING OF ‘SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED’ AIRPORTS The planning of an airport is critical to the assessment of the required resources regarding labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. It forms a basis or sketch of what challenges are to be encountered in the process of planning and execution. Among the challenges faced from the planning of small to medium size, airports include Technology, capacity, and delay. Technology, Capacity, and Delay Airports around the world have been experiencing a continued rise in the levels of delay and which in most cases tops the list for the challenges that face planning of an airport. The terminal, entry and exit point for every passenger, must be spacious enough to accommodate the capacity of the said number of travelers at the moment. Also, they should have a well-planned ratio for the attendants or else there would not only be the collapse of the whole system but also delay both passengers and flights[Mar151]. The delay may be caused by the inability of travellers to freely move from one point of the terminal to another for either boarding or ticket checking. A good example of the above situation includes the Port Harcourt International Airport, Nigeria. It is ranked among the worst in African and the worst in the world with the terminals having staff members that were described to be unpleasant and unhelpful, with few or no seats available, poor air condition systems and a waiting place designed as a tent for the arrivals[The08]. Although improvements are being made, the terminal tells a lot about the commitment of the stakeholders in managing the capacity of the airport and working on delays from the system within, such as staff members and the available facilities, for example, clean washrooms and eating and resting places. The runway, on the other hand, determines the capacity, on its size and plane holding capacity at a particular moment. The design of the runways for small to medium sized airports require long runways for the bigger planes, about 4 to 5 kilometers with good visibility during day and night and taxiways that have recommended space and capacity to and from the hangar. The issues facing capacity and delay can have measures set with the aid of technology[Bon10]. The revolution of technology in the aviation industry has improved on the delays on service provision during departure and arrival. Technology can help to improve or degrade the terminal and runway capacity and in turn delays. In the case of a small to medium airport planning, the capacity of airplanes in the runways can have an increase in an effective and efficient traffic control systems for departure and arrival planes. A good departure and arrival schedule will aid in the control of fleets, and in turn, help increases the capacity of planes that land and depart on a precise timetable. OVERALL CONCLUSION TO THE REPORT The process of airport planning requires all the information regarding social, economic, environmental and technical factors that will affect the airport plan in the future. The stakeholders provide information on the anticipated fears or effect of the development plans, and mitigations and strategies are then set to be implemented during or after the planning process[Bon10]. The consideration of the new information provided by the stakeholders depends on the acceptability and achievability of the effects by the airline or airport. Among the important stakeholders include the community which will be affected first hand regarding pollution (noise, air, and waste), relocation and accessibility of the resources of the land. As a stakeholder, the airline and the airport should ensure that growth and development go hand in hand with that of the surrounding community by offering opportunities through employment, environmental programs or creation of new business opportunities. The plan helps to see pending challenges with the aid of already available information on poorly planned airports. One of the leading result of a poorly planned airport includes delay and capacity. Delay of flights or passengers due to the runway or terminal issues is as a consequence of the capacity of an airport[SHe92]. An underestimation or overestimation of the capacity may be the cause of delay in most cases. Therefore, to tackle this situation, a proper airport planning process needs to be conducted. References The08: , (The Bridge, 2008), Met12: , (Metrass-Mendes, 2012), Gho90: , (Ghobrial & Fleming, 1990), Ral90: , (Rallis & Peen , 1990), Joh08: , (Reichmuth, 2008), Kum14: , (Kumar & Bierlaire, 2014), Mar151: , (Marques , et al., 2015), Bon10: , (Bonnefoy & Hansman, 2010), SHe92: , (S. & Fan, 1992), Read More