Airport modernisation gains urgency
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Effective capacity of existing facilities can be augmented considerably through innovative and inexpensive means
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One way to achieve quick results in the civil aviation sector is to have a National Aviation Board with full financial and executive powers.
SCALING UP: The newly floated GMR-led joint venture company, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), implementing the modernisation programme at the domestic terminal of the Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi. — FILE PHOTO
THE DEVELOPMENT of civil airports has been strongly influenced by the type and size of aircraft and in turn by the growth of traffic. The aircraft industry has been introducing passenger planes with varied capacities and ranges to meet the requirements of complex route structures, with the primary objective of bringing down the cost per seat/kilometre.
Construction at almost all major airports in the world is an unending process. Traffic growth quickly absorbs the capacities being created at airports and terminals generally remain choked during peak hours.
Deciding factors
While capacity and number of aircraft handled decide the size of airports, aircraft characteristics such as wing span, fuselage length, tail height and weight have a bearing on airport infrastructure and facilities.
Hence future trends in aircraft development must be kept in view while planning airports.
For instance, increase of wing span will change layout plans of an airport and its safety requirements.
Heavier aircraft bring in problems of structural strength for runways, taxiways and aprons and raise issues of cost of substructures and their integrity when subjected to heavy loads. In addition, parking areas and terminal buildings will require total transformation to meet future aircraft needs.
Total investment in the Indian aviation sector by way of purchase of aircraft, replacement of old fleet, modernisation of airports, navigation/ communication aids and the like by the end of the last century is placed at around Rs. 26,000 crore. But with the dramatic developments of recent years, the time has come to seriously consider the type and magnitude of ground infrastructure required to handle the surge of people and freight at Indian airports.
The last two decades have witnessed the coming up of fairly modern terminals at the four international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
However, considering the country's geopolitical position and its socio-economic requirements, serious efforts are required to boost investment in airports.
At the same time, ways must be explored to increase the handling capacity of airports not only by building larger terminals but also by other innovative means and modification of procedures, with the cooperation of all stakeholders. This will also help reduce the cost of services, now considered rather high.
Need for balance
Capacity availability at a terminal has an inverse relation to the occupancy time of certain facilities. When occupancy time is reduced, availability of the facilities automatically gets enhanced. Airport capacity includes capacity of the runway and the number of flights it can handle during peak hours. Increased apron capacity involves improvement in the geometrics of aircraft parking areas and strict traffic control over the apron, in addition to minimum turnaround time of aircraft. The capacity of the terminal building is dictated by the rules and regulations, security checks, immigration, Customs and other formalities. Any imbalance in the capacities of the runway, the apron and the terminal building is likely to lead to sub-optimal use of the total airport system.
Unfortunately due to lack of co-ordination between various agencies, occupancy time at international airports in India and many other developing countries has been on the rise.
Part of the problem can be traced to security considerations, anti-smuggling and anti-narcotics operations. With modest investment by regulatory agencies, occupancy time at airports can be reduced considerably. Similarly, through quicker baggage delivery and streamlined customs clearance, the occupancy of arrival passengers can be cut by half or more, thereby increasing the effective capacity of arrival areas.
The factors that can increase terminal capacity can be divided into four main groups:
— Maximising use of existing capacity of terminals by amending certain procedures.
— Induction of latest security and frisking equipment to reduce check-in and check-out time.
— Improvement in baggage delivery system, preferably taking it underground to reduce congestion and delay on the apron.
— Alternative proposals that may call for a revised master plan and rearranging of facilities.
Better runways
The capacity of runways can be augmented by the following means:
— Approach and departure guidance by all weather operations (AWOPS).
— Modernisation of ATC and other landing facilities. This can raise the capacity of the runway up to 45-50 landings/takeoffs an hour.
— Micro-landing systems and Mod's operations for secondary surveillance radar (SSR).
— Provision of parallel taxi tracks wherever these do not exist.
— Provision of Cat. III (c) landing system at busy airports, where no physical constraints exist, so that the pilots of wide body aircraft can operate even at zero visibility.
Capacities of parking areas can be enhanced in the following ways:
— Use of large aircraft.
— Modernising apron services and movement control.
— Improved ground support, that is, aircraft service, 100 Hz power for aircraft AC unit, heating, water supply, toilet cleaning and fuelling through tunnels under the apron thus avoiding congestion of ramp vehicles. This can reduce the gap between parked aircraft and raise capacity of the apron by 40-50 per cent. Thus, effective capacity of existing airports can be improved, not through large fresh investment alone but through innovative methods. New terminals will still be needed but can be staggered over a longer period. This approach will also help cut the cost of services at airports to some extent.
Civil aviation in India had been a protected sector with little competition. But in the present scenario it has become imperative to change its work environment.
The multiplicity of authorities with their own power centres retards decision making. What the sector needs is a system geared to quick decisions. One way to achieve this is to have an autonomous National Aviation Board with full financial and executive powers, immune to pressures.
Its primary responsibility should be to optimise the use of the limited human and material resources, maximise efficiency and in turn profits. The board should oversee all aviation activities and prepare perspective plans, both short term and long term, up to the year 2020.
One important function will be to correct imbalances between various corporations under its control and avoid duplication of infrastructure. The Ministry's role can at best be custodial to look into broad policy and be responsible for legal and bilateral matters.
For more representative management, the boards of airlines and airport authorities may consider diluting government equity in various corporations by offering 30-40 per cent shares to the general public, local bodies, financial institutions, banks and the Life Insurance Corporation.
This will bring on the Aviation Board persons who will exercise proper checks and balances to ensure a high standard of services.
A number of facilities of similar nature can be shared by the airlines and the airport authorities. The future of the aviation sector lies not just in air transport development but also appropriate leadership and technology.
NARAYANA VISHWANATH
Former Director (Consultancy/Foreign Projects), International Airport Authority of India
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