Airport Configuration

Airport

Terminal Area Landing Area

Runway Taxiway

Airport terminal Apron Area Hanger

Building, (ATB)
Parking (apron
gate area)
Access interface

Processing Circulation Area

Flight interface

#Terminal Area:

The terminal area is the major interface between the airfield and the rest of the airport. It is the portion
of an airport other than the landing area. It serves as a focal point for activities on the airport.

# Airport terminal Building:

Airport terminal building is the major connection between the ground access system and the aircraft.
The purpose of aircraft building is to provide shelter & space for various surface activities related to the
air transportation,. As such they are planned for maximum efficiency, convenience and economy. The
extent of the building area in relation to the landing area depends upon the present and future
anticipated use of aircraft.

# The various facilities provided in the airport building are as follows:

(I) Passengers and baggage handling counters for booking.

(II) Baggage claim section.
(III) Enquiry counter.
(IV) Space for handling and processing mail, express and light cargo.
(V) Public telephone booth.
(VI) Waiting hall for passengers and visitors.
 (VII) Toilet facilities.
(VIII) Restaurants and bars.
(IX) First aid room.
(X) General store and gift shops.
(XI) Space for magazines, news paper, advertisement display etc.
(XII) Office for airport staff.
(XIII) Weather bureau.
(XIV) Post office and banking facilities.
(XV) Custom control.
(XVI) Passport and health control.
(XVII) Control tower.

# ATB components:

(1) Access Interface: This component consists of the terminal curbs, parking facilities and
connection roadways that enable originating and terminating passengers, visitors and baggage
to enter and exit the terminal. It includes the following facilities-
(a) Circulation of passengers or visitors vehicles.
(b) Parking of passengers or visitors vehicles.
(c) Loading and unloading of passengers.
(d) Enquiry counter.
(e) Public telephone booth.
(2) Processing: It is the component where the passenger is processed in preparation for starting,,
ending an air transportation trip. The activities that take place within this component are-
(a) Ticket checking and others.
(b) Baggage check-in.
(c) Baggage claim.
(d) Federal inspection service and security (custom, health, immigration etc)
(3) Flight Interface: It is the component where the passenger transfers from the processing
component to the aircraft. The activities that take place within this component are-
(a) Assembly
(b) Conveyance to and from aircraft
(c) Aircraft loading and unloading.

# Apron:

It is a paved area for parking of aircrafts, loading and unloading of passengers and cargo. It is usually
located close to the terminal building or hangers. It consists:

(a) Gate Area: Where the aircraft are actually parked.

(b) Circulation Area: Where the aircraft circulate ie the movement of aircraft within the apron gate
area and from this area to taxiways.
# Aircraft parking configuration:

Aircraft parking configuration refers to the manner in which the aircraft is positioned with respect to the
terminal building and to manner in which aircraft maneuvers in and out of parking positions.

The aircraft parking configuration which have been successfully used at a variety of airports are-

(a) Nose-in and angled nose-in.

(b) Nose out and angled nose out.
(c) Parallel system.

Figure: Aircraft parking configuration:

(a) Nose-in and angled nose-in:

Nose -in: In this parking configuration, the aircraft is parked perpendicular to the building line with the
nose as close to the building as permissible.

Angled nose-in: this configuration is similar to the nose-in configuration expect that the aircraft is not
parked perpendicular to the building.

The advantages of nose-in and angle nose-in configuration are-

(I) Less noise while taxing in because no turning is required.

(II) Hot blast is not directed towards the terminal building.
(III) The aircraft forward door is close to the terminal building.

The disadvantages are:

(I) The aircraft rear loading door is far away from terminal building.

(B)Nose out and angled nose out:

Nose out: In this configuration the aircraft is parked perpendicular to the building line with its nose
pointing away from the terminal building.

Angle Nose out parking: This configuration is similar to the nose out configuration expect that the
aircraft is not parked perpendicular to the building.

# The advantages of this configuration are-

(I) Less power is required while maneuvering the aircraft out of itd gate position.
(II) The rear loading door is close to the terminal building.
(III) Overall apron area required is generally small.

(C)Parallel system:

Advantages- both front and rear doors are adjacent to the terminal building.

Disadvantages:

(I) Requires more space.

(II) The noise and the hot blast are directed towards the adjacent gate position.

# Apron layout:

Aircraft parking system (layout) can be classified as follows-

(I) Frontal system.

(II) Open apron system.
(III) Finger system.
(IV) Satellite system.

Figure: Apron layout

(I)Frontal system: It is very simple and economical system. But its use is limited only to small airports
requiring few gate positions.
 (II)Open apron system: In this system the aircrafts are parked in rows. If the number of aircrafts is too
large, passengers may have to walk long distance or reach the aircrafts parked in the outer most rows.

(I) Finger system: the facilities for passengers, for entering and leaving the aircraft, offer
require extensions of the terminal building. Such extension is known as pier finger. The pier
finger can be fenced open walkway or a closed structure, single or multistoried. It can be
straight, T-shaped or Y shaped.

Its main advantages are:

(a) If enclosed, it provided adequate protection to the passengers from weather, noise, fumes etc.
(b) Future expansion in easier.
(c) All aircrafts remain close to the terminal building.

(IV)Satellite system: Satellites are small building located on the apron. Aircrafts are parked around the
satellite buildings which are connected by underground tunnel.

# Apron gate area: The size of apron gate area depends on three factors-

(i) The number of aircraft gate.

(ii) Size of the gates.
(iii) The aircraft parking layout in the gate area.

# No of gates depends on-

(a) A/C volume- arrival or departures which will be greater.

(b) Gate capacity time: The time on which a/c requires to all of its operational in the gate area to be
completed ie passenger boarding checking of aircraft.

# Procedure to find out No of gates:

(i) Identify the types of aircraft to be accommodated & the percentage of each type in the total
mix.
(ii) Identify the gates occupancy time for each type.
(iii) Compute the weighted average gate occupancy time.
(iv) Determine the total hourly design volume & the percentage which are arrivals/ departures.
(v) Compute the hourly design volume of arrivals & departures by multiplying the percentages
of arrivals & departures by total hourly design volume.
(vi) Use the larger one in step(v) in the following formulas-

G=
Where,
 V= design volume for arrivals or departure/hr.
T= Weighted average gate occupancy time in hr.
U = Vitilization factor
For, domestic airport= 0.5-0.6
For, international airport=0.6-0.8

# Hanger:

The primary function of a hanger is to provide an enclosure for servicing, overhauling and doing repairs
of the aircrafts of the aircrafts. They are usually constructed of steel frames and covered with galvanized
iron sheets. The size of hanger depends upon the size of aircrafts and its turning radius.

The number of hangers depends upon the peak hour volume of aircrafts and depends of hangers on
rental basis by differential airline agencies.

# Problem: Find out the number gate for the following data: