Airport saturation in India

[cholical]

In recent years the explosive growth of cities such as Mumbai and Chennai in India has lead to proposals for new airports to alleviate the stress and congestion at existing ones. Chennai airport, for example, currently handles somewhere near 14 million passengers and will be saturated within a few years; it already faces numerous physical restrictions such as well as government regulations that prevent it from expanding properly. A new airport is definitely needed and building it on land would mean it would be far from the city center, and past examples (e.g. Montreal Mirabel) show that airports that are far away and lacking connections to the city center can easily become huge infrastructural failures. An airport could be built out at sea, which is a realistic solution due to the lack of free land on already expensive and densely populated shore. An offshore airport built would need to initially be capable of handling maybe 5 million passengers with an eventual need for expansion.

 

Therefore, I am thinking of designing an airport as a science project. I am currently in high school, so I obviously do not have the resources to make a complete design. I understand these things are done by engineering teams who have done extensive research and preparation to even propose a design. That being said, whatever I end up coming up with will be somewhat general, addressing a limited amount of problems. I know an airport out at sea not only needs to be designed to efficiently handle passenger traffic but also be environmentally safe and structurally stable. It need to be reasonably self sustaining because of its location. I know that there are numerous other things that can be problematic for an engineering team faced with such a huge task, but unfortunately I do not think I am capable of addressing those problems because I do not have the knowledge. I am really interested in doing this project for whatever it is worth, but I am not sure if having something too broad will defeat the purpose of it.

 

That being said, I think that there are two ways I can take this:

1. I can focus in on a specific problem that pertains to building a new airport (maybe what type of features it would need to conserve energy and water)

That would also mean that I would be purely focused on how this building would need to efficiently use power and water rather than ho w many runways and what type of facilities it would need to handle passengers.

2. Go with a broad design that tries to address all or most problems in a vague manner (designing an airport and explaining possible features it would need to endure the conditions off shore), and not addressing some problems such as the stability of the seabed and protection from natural disasters

This design would also be derived from existing off shore airports (e.g. Kansai or Nagasaki)

 

Any suggestions ideas or guidance would be very helpful.

 

Thank you in advance.

[michel123456]

O.K.

You should begin finding a location. Is it about Mumbai or Chennai ?

Then take an existing design (as you stated) and put it at the right scale on the map. Take care of the correct orientation (the orientation of the existing airport should be the correct one but you have to check out). try to find a place where the sea bed is not too deep (is there a small island nearby?).

Then figure if it is possible to link the new airport to the city. The easiest way is to create the airport "on the beach" IOW parallel to the coast and in full contact. The other way is to put it anywhere but with a bridge for roads & trains. Don't forget that airports are for people AND for merchandises.

 

Also be aware of the existing air traffic control and the existing path of airplanes directing or coming from the existing airport. Keep in mind that your airport will be an addition to the existing one, another reason to put it in a parallel direction.

 

That would be a good start.

 

Ah, also it may happen that such a study already exists. The newly build Athens airport existed in projects in the 60's.

 

 

 

 

 

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(edit)

Do you quit the skyscraper?

Edited February 9, 2014 by michel123456

[cholical]

I am definitely thinking Chennai because I have been there multiple times and I think the personal experience would definitely help with the project. I am not doing the skyscraper; this idea is much better.

 

Do you mean parallel to the existing airport's main runway or just parallel to the shore?

The thing with parallel direction is that the existing airport's main runway is 07/25, meaning that if a new airport were to be built on the shore parallel to the existing one then the runway would jut out in to the ocean. If built parallel to the shore, it may pose problems for the existing airport's approach path because even for aircraft coming in from the west they must fly past the airport, turn around, and land from an eastern direction. I am not sure if there is an easy way to rework the existing flight path to accommodate the new airport if it is built parallel to the shore, or if it should just be built parallel to the main runway of the existing airport.

As far as I know, I do not think there is a well known study for an airport in the ocean.

 

 

 

Thank you for the help.

[michel123456]

I am definitely thinking Chennai because I have been there multiple times and I think the personal experience would definitely help with the project. I am not doing the skyscraper; this idea is much better.

 

Do you mean parallel to the existing airport's main runway or just parallel to the shore?

The thing with parallel direction is that the existing airport's main runway is 07/25, meaning that if a new airport were to be built on the shore parallel to the existing one then the runway would jut out in to the ocean. If built parallel to the shore, it may pose problems for the existing airport's approach path because even for aircraft coming in from the west they must fly past the airport, turn around, and land from an eastern direction. I am not sure if there is an easy way to rework the existing flight path to accommodate the new airport if it is built parallel to the shore, or if it should just be built parallel to the main runway of the existing airport.

As far as I know, I do not think there is a well known study for an airport in the ocean.

 

 

 

Thank you for the help.

If the existing airport is maintained there is no other choice than to build the new one parallel to it. If the shore disagrees, that's a problem.

Since it is a simple exercise without too much relation with real life, maybe you can decide that the ancien airport will be discarded (changed into a green area or urban & touristic development) and take your airport as the only one. That's what is happening here. It was specified in the convention between the Greek state & the construction development that no other aviation activity would be allowed at the ancient airport (in order to provide a - costly- monopole).

Edited February 9, 2014 by michel123456

[cholical]

I think I have to go with a runway parallel to the existing airport's one because the old airport definitely cannot be discarded; it currently going through a huge modernization project which would mean it is unrealistic to simply discard it.

Even if the new runway juts out into the ocean I am assuming it would only increase the cost and not pose any other major issues as far as I am concerned.

[michel123456]

I think I have to go with a runway parallel to the existing airport's one because the old airport definitely cannot be discarded; it currently going through a huge modernization project which would mean it is unrealistic to simply discard it.

Even if the new runway juts out into the ocean I am assuming it would only increase the cost and not pose any other major issues as far as I am concerned.

In this case you should provide a marine map that shows depths or it will become unrealistic too.

 

_______________________

I had a look in google Earth and saw a beautiful lake north of Chennai. That is wonderful for an airport - very awful for the birds. That would drive completely mad the ecologists. Maybe on the south shore of the lake? (sorry i don't know the exact situation so maybe I am utterly wrong)

 

On the other hand I see that Chennai airport is surrounded by urbanization. That's not good in the long run.

Edited February 9, 2014 by michel123456

[cholical]

I have been trying to find a marine depth map- is there a specific threshold that makes it too deep to build? Is there anywhere where I can find that sort of information?

 

Both lakes I see north of Chennai (one is called Pulicat lake) I think are too far north from the city center. Also, I think another realistic factor would be to connect the new airport directly to the metro that the government is currently trying so hard to build. I was thinking near the northern tip of city limits (the farthest point of the metro) assuming that land disputes would be settled (or is that too stretching it too far?).

[michel123456]

I have been trying to find a marine depth map- is there a specific threshold that makes it too deep to build? Is there anywhere where I can find that sort of information?

 

Both lakes I see north of Chennai (one is called Pulicat lake) I think are too far north from the city center. Also, I think another realistic factor would be to connect the new airport directly to the metro that the government is currently trying so hard to build. I was thinking near the northern tip of city limits (the farthest point of the metro) assuming that land disputes would be settled (or is that too stretching it too far?).

Distance to city is not always a bad factor. you can imagine your airport mainly for freight and low cost companies. A distance of 40 km is possible (Like Milan Malpensa IIRC).

 

I don't know where to find marine maps that show depths.

But i read on Wikipedia that the coast North of the port has been severely eroded because of the construction of the port itself. It means the water must be shallow there, and that could be an argument to restore the coast approx. as it was. i think with some good search you can do a great job.

[cholical]

I will definitely consider a larger distance- there are many open undeveloped areas outside the city.

 

Thank you for all the help.

[Enthalpy]

Your study could focus on the transport of passengers and goods between the coast and a sea airport.

 

At Kansai they built roads and railways, supposedly with excellent reasons. For instance, the car park on the artificial island takes no area on the main land. But maybe you can ferry the cars and lorries on big catamarans, hydroplanes, hovercraft?

[cholical]

I actually decided to use the proposed on land site and base my airport off of the proposed site, but thank you for the suggestion!