University of Zilina, Slovak Republic & Eurocontrol Experimental Centre, France

Martin Matas

Problem statement:
It is expected that the air traffic in Europe will double or triple in next 20 years.
There are already many airports which have now serious problem with the
capacity. Often there is not enough space to build new runways, there are traffic
jams on taxiways and aprons, terminals are lacking of space, parking place is
insufficient… If there is not a serious solution found, the current capacity will be
saturated and the traffic grow will be inhibited.

Goal:
Propose a future airport concept, that will increase airports’ capacity at least two or three times.

Initial concepts:
Breaking the constraints between the terminal and the runways
Main idea is to build the landside terminal in the city and to build new airport far from
the city while connecting them with High Speed Train.

----------------- High Speed Train -------------

Future airport paradigm

Current airport paradigm

Finding a completely different approach

Multilevel runway, taxiway and apron system
to the air traffic flow at an airport

There are many capacity constraints to be improved and the new concept shall solve Many of current airport can not build another runway next to the others because of
them as a one process. airport border with the city. Can you imagine that there is a another level of runway
built over the other one or crossing the other one?

The capacity of an airport can be Building a new runway over the

increased by speeding up the flow other ones would break current
in each particular constraining space constraint on many of the
object. busy airports. This idea also
Average airliner can depart or motivates the existence of
land in 50 or 60 seconds…some multilevel taxiway and apron
of them with the same type of system with multilevel terminal and
aircraft can do it within 30-40 therefore it leads to direct increase
seconds.. of capacity of the whole airport.

Many airlines have average

turnaround time at about one London Heathrow Airport

hour. Some of them can make

Traffic constraining objects.
There are many configurations
their turnaround within 15-20
available. The upper runway doesn’t
minutes..
need to be right over the other one. It
For quicker vacating the runway may stand nearby enabling aircraft
there might be a kind of turning taxiing to the lower runway, it can
runway or taxiway, which will cross the lower runway in the middle
enable the aircraft safely turn off or it can stand completely apart from
from the landing direction at any runway just for the reason of the
higher speeds while other aircraft lack of the space.
would already start the take off Turning Runway - Runway shaped to a curve
Airport with two level runway and apron system
run. The idea is optimally
redesign the traditional shape of
a runway
Any other concept ?
The future concept – an unconstrained vision which is
strong enough to survive in the limiting environment of
current law, rules, procedures, finance and traditional way
of thinking.

“What Would You Do To Increase Capacity?”