Planning A New Airport:

Elements of Airport Planning

The elements of planning for a new airport are :

(a)        Demand Forecast

(b)       Site Selection

(c)        Determination of airport size, capacity and layout

(d)       Design of elements

(e)        Estimation of cost

Demand Forecast

An airport is an important facility for which large investments are made. The planning should take it account the long-term demand forecast. For important airports, the design period should be long enough that the facility does not become obsolete too soon. A design period of 50 years is a minimum. The construction may be phased out in stages as the traffic grows. The demand forecast may be based on past trends of traffic between the proposed airport and cities which can interact with it.