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Apron and Gate

• Apron is a defined area which is used to accommodate


aircrafts for loading and unloading of passengers and cargo,
parking, refueling, etc. It is paved and usually planned
adjacent to the terminal building.
• Gate is the space allotted to an aircraft for parking at an apron
• Size of apron depends on
– Number of aircraft gates
– Size of the gates
– Aircraft parking layout at each gate
Number of Aircraft Gates
• The number of gates depends on
– Number of aircraft to be handled during the design hour
– Amount of time each aircraft occupies a gate
• It is customary to use the estimated peak hour volume as the
input for estimating the number of gates. This volume should
not exceed the capacity of runways.
• The amount of time an aircraft occupies a gate is referred to
as gate occupancy time.
• Gate occupancy time depends on aircraft size and type of
flight, i.e., whether it is a through flight or turnaround flight
and its range of operation
Determining the Number of Gates
• In calculating the required number of gates, the following
steps should be followed:
– Identify the types of aircrafts to be accommodated and the percentage
of each type in the total mix.
– Identify the gate occupancy time for each type
– Compute the weighted average gate-occupancy time.
– Determine the total hourly design volume and the percentage of
aircraft which are arrivals and departures
– Compute the hourly design volume of arrivals and departures by
multiplying the percentage of arrivals and departures by the total
hourly design volume.
Contd.
– Using the larger number of arrivals or departures, the following
formula gives the number of gates required:

G = (CT)/U
Where, G = number of gates
C = design volume for arrivals or departures in aircrafts/hr
T = gate occupancy time in hours
U = gate utilisation factor
Due to the constraints in scheduling of airlines, all the gates can not be
utilised all the time. Therefore, a gate utlisation factor of 0.8 is
considered as the highest that can be achieved. Normally U varies
between 0.5 an 0.8
Example Problem
• Determine the number of gates required given the following aircraft mix
and average gate occupancy times:

Aircraft class Mix (%) Average gate


occupancy time (min)
1 10 20
2 30 40
3 60 60

• The total hourly design volume of aircraft operations at the airport is 30


ATMs/hr. Arrivals are 50%. Assume that each gate is available for all
aircraft. Take utilisation factor as 0.80.
Hourly Capacity of Gate group
• Calculate the hourly gate group capacities as follows: .
– Determine the number of gate groups and the number of gates in each gate
group,
– Determine the gate mix, ie., the percent of non-widebadied aircraft using each
gate group.
– Determine the percentage of gates in each gate group that can accommodate
widebodied aircraft.
– Determine for each gate group the average gate occupancy time for
widebodied and non-widebodied aircraft.
– When widebodied aircraft are served, calculate the gate occupancy ratio (R)
by the following equation:
R = (Average gate occupancy time for widebodied aircraft) / (Average gate
occupancy time for non-widebodied aircraft)
When widebodied aircraft are not served, R equals 1.00
– Calculate the hourly capacity of each gate group by use of figure.
Hourly capacity = G* × S × N
FAA Gate Capacity Chart
FAA Gate Capacity Chart
FAA Gate Capacity Chart
FAA Gate Capacity Chart
FAA Gate Capacity Chart

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