Scenario on airport works Session 5 Presentation 1

Futureland International Airport Work site To prepare for an airport construction event, all stake-holders should participate in evaluating the areas of the facility’s normal operation and develop mitigations for each identified impact. There should also be a schedule for regular follow up meetings so any unanticipated issues may be addressed in a timely manner.

Review Construction Plan When will construction begin? What is the daily schedule for work? Will construction vehicles have access to movement areas? Which ones? Who is the point of contact? Telephone Radio frequency All stakeholders should know this information and all points of contact should be easily available in the tower cab. If the Control Tower Operator encounters a problem with men and/or equipment associated with the project, there should be a sensible means to reach whomever has oversight responsibility.

Review Runway Use Plan How are runways typically assigned? Is either a primary arrival or departure runway? Are both runways typically active and used? Multiple or single runway? Can a single runway support the expected traffic volume? How is RWY 6/24 typically used? How is RWY 13/31 typically used? Whether your facility has a formal or informal runway use plan, the impact of the loss of RWY 6/24 should be carefully considered. I anticipate that given the airport geometry that both runway surfaces are routinely used to avoid unnecessary delays caused by aircraft back-taxiing. Therefore, switching to a single runway operation will have a large impact on the way the Air Traffic Controllers perform their tasks. 600 operations per day to/from a single runway equates to more than 33 operations per hour (if counted as in the US using the busiest 18 hours), 25 operations per hour if using a 24 hour average. Either is a big load when every arrival and departure has to back taxi to/from a single taxiway. Aircraft will have to be held well back from the hold point at TWY E and RWY 13/31 to allow arriving aircraft to exit.

Review Traffic Management Options If restrictions to arrivals are anticipated, what is the plan to ensure restrictions are in place in a timely manner? Does the facility have the means to enact departure delays if required? What are they? Who will be responsible for carrying them out. As discussed in the previous slide, a single runway with single point of entry/exit will likely exceed the capacity of the airport surface and a plan should be in place to meter arrivals and departures to ensure gridlock does not occur. This may impact other facilities (TRACON, ARTCC) and they should be included in the discussion.

Review Taxi and Ground Movement Plan Normal ground operations will have to be adapted to accommodate a single runway with a single point of access/exit. Can aircraft be held in the RWY 24 turning circle? This could be advantageous for staging RWY 13 departures, or Holding a RWY 31 arrival while another aircraft lands or departs. The taxiway connecting RWY 13/31 and the Main Apron will have to be protected to avoid gridlock. Ample protection will have to be provided at E and RWY 13/31 to allow arriving aircraft to exit therefore if a plan is not already in place to hold aircraft on the Main Apron, one will need to be created. Also a plan should be in place to move aircraft via TWYs A and B to and from the Grass Parking and the ramp at TWY D.

Taxi/Ground Movement cont’d Ensure a sensible plan is in place for movement between the Grass Parking area and the Main Apron with extra emphasis on awareness of activity in and around the work site. What plan is in place to communicate all changes to normal operations to airport users?

Review Tower Staffing Plan Will additional staffing be required to: Manage flow control; Coordinate a more complicated ground movement plan; Accommodate more airborne holding; Manage potential ground hold procedures; or Control movement of construction vehicles to/from the work site?

Develop Briefing Package For Air Traffic Controllers High level briefing covering: Changes to current procedures; Duration and schedule of planned closure; Any changes made in the previous steps; Weekly and/or daily briefings: Construction status; Weather forecast and its possible impact; Problems encountered/lessons learned. Training The training package may have to be extensive if there will be significant changes to the normal operation. Given the airport geometry and projected traffic of 600 operations per day, these controllers are going to be a lot busier than they are likely used to.

General Discussion At this point I would open the floor to discussion.

The End

Multiple runway operation If arrivals and departures are typically sequenced to different runways then it can be anticipated that greater than normal spacing will be required to allow for each departure to have time to back taxi to the takeoff position. Return to previous slide.

Single Runway If the airport typically only uses one runway at a time then the procedures for a runway 13/31 operation will have to be followed for the duration of the construction project. Return to previous slide.

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