Abstract:
At present runway congestion in the airline industry has reached a dangerously high
level. The effects of this are very costly to all parties involved; US$5bn per year in
Europe in 1989 alone. The problem demands urgent attention to accommodate the
expected average growth in air transport of 6% per annum. up to the year 2000. It is
becoming more and more obvious, however, that the construction of new runways is
not a feasible option due to both political, environmental and physical space
limitations within Europe. Alternative solutions are therefore required
In 1991 the European Regional Airlines Association, (ERA), produced a document
entitled, "I"he Vital Link', which outlined a number of ways in which regional aircraft
could use there performance differences from the larger jet aircraft to help generate
extra runway capacity from existing runways. Whilst the author was a member of the
ERA operations committee he developed some of these ideas further. It is the
objective of this thesis to examine the ideas developed by the author from both a
theoretical and practical point of view to determine the feasibility of implementing
them at congestedE uropeana irports.
T'heoretical simulation modelling of Manchester, Zurich and Gatwick airports was
undertaken using the FAA SIMMOD airport and airspace simulation model. This
produced delay time savings and changes to peak hour movement rates which were
used in a cost benefit analysis model to see whether or not the procedure would make
a cost saving. The practical side of the thesis focusedo n an industry questionnairet o
regional airlines, major airlines and airports to obtain their views on the new
proceduresa nd cases tudieso f the proceduresa t Manchestera nd Gatwick airports.
Results of the work show that whilst the procedures can effectively reduce operating
delays they have a lessor impact on peak hour movement rates. Optimum use of the
procedures is unique to individual airports and depends on the runway operation
mode, TMA airspace configuration and the type and variability of the traffic mix.
Actual application of the proceduresw ill be dependanot n political and environmental
restrictionsa nd likely future changesin regional airlines aircraft fleets.