Airports under a microscope - Group 4 - 2018/2019, Semester B, Quartile 3

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Airports under a microscope

In this section, we will take a look at Dutch airports as such to find criteria of what our anti-drone system should take into account. Furthermore, we will look at the main difference between certain airports in the Netherlands to check whether these differences might lead to different solutions that might suit different kinds of airports better. As a result of that, these differences might be used as criteria for our decision model. First of all, we will be looking at some of the larger commercial airports of the Netherlands.

General description/facts of Airports in the Netherlands

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the largest airport of the Netherlands and was the third busiest airport of Europe in 2017. [1] Schiphol is home to Dutch airlines KLM, Martinair, Corendon, TUI fly and Transavia. The airport has 6 runways with a total length of 19467 metres. [2] In figure 1 an overview and the locations of the runways of Schiphol can be observed with the names and lengths of each runway included.

Missing image
Figure 1: General overview of the layout of Schiphol and overview of the runways of Schiphol. [2]


Table 1 below contains general facts of the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, mainly of 2018.

Table 1: General facts of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol [2][3]
Passenger amount 2018 70.956.604 passengers
Amount of airplane movements (departure/arrival) in 2018 499.446 movements
Total cargo load 2018 1.716.982 tonne
Amount direct worldwide destinations 322 destinations
Area of the airport 2.787 hectares
Arrival peak hour capacity 106 movements
Departure peak hour capacity 110 movements
Amount runways 6 runways


In the table, we observe that Schiphol had a total of 499.446 movements in 2018, that would be an average of around 1.367 movements every day. Keep in mind that this is both arrivals from and departures on Schiphol and includes both passenger flights and cargo flights. Then with the six runways the airport has, this would mean that with an average of 1.367 movements every day, each runway would, on average, observe an aeroplane movement around every 6 minutes. Note that this is a calculated average, and this number of movements on each runway can be higher during peak hours. This, in turn, means that at any given point in time, Schiphol is extremely busy and loaded with at least thousands of passengers. Hence any form of interception with UAVs would already cause major issues. Let alone the damage that could be caused by any forms of terrorist attacks with the use of UAVs.

Eindhoven Airport

Eindhoven Airport is the second largest airport in the Netherlands in terms of passengers [4]. Furthermore, Eindhoven Airport is also the home base of all military transport aeroplanes of the Royal Netherlands Air Force [5]. In total, there are nine large military aeroplanes, which are usually used after a natural disaster[6]. The latest example being hurricane Irma, who caused huge amounts of damage in the Dutch colonies Sint Maarten and Curacao [7].

In Figure 2 below, the general layout of the Eindhoven Airport is depicted, showing mainly the single runway the airport has and the parking spots of the aeroplanes currently not in use.


Missing image
Figure 2: General overview of layout of Eindhoven Airport [8]


Table 2 below contains general facts of Eindhoven Airport, mainly of 2018.

Table 2: General facts of Eindhoven Airport [9]
Passenger amount 2018 6.237.755 passengers
Amount of airplane movements (departure/arrival) in 2018 38.642 movements
Total cargo load 2018 0 tonne
Amount direct worldwide destinations 81 destinations
Area of the airport 639 hectares
Amount runways 1 runway


As can be seen in the table, Eindhoven Airport has only one runway, which means that both the commercial aeroplanes and the military aeroplanes depart and arrive using the same runway [10]. Eindhoven Airport is also experiencing an enormous growth at the moment, with an increase in served passengers of almost 10% [11]. The military departures occur so infrequently compared to the commercial airlines that their contribution to the number of departures from Eindhoven Airport is negligible. The operating hours of Eindhoven Airport are between 07:00 in the morning and 24:00, so midnight, 365 days per year. This corresponds to an aeroplane either departing or arriving on the runway every 10 minutes on average[10].

Some critical remarks regarding the safety hazards of Eindhoven Airport are that it is, in fact, the second largest airport in the Netherlands in terms of passengers. This means that a sudden shutdown due to a drone would have enormous consequences for many passengers. Furthermore, due to the fact that the airport only has one runway, it has a single point of failure to prevent all aeroplanes from both taking off and arriving. If one drone would be flying around this runway, then the whole airport has to be shut down. On top of that, the fact that Eindhoven Airport houses military transport vehicles increases the risk of drone attacks. Imagine that there would be a sudden natural disaster and these aeroplanes need to depart to aid the people in the disaster area, then it takes only one drone to delay this much-needed help by several hours. This could be the hours that would mean life or death for multiple people in the disaster area. Lastly, the giant and continuous growth of Eindhoven Airport could also pose problems in terms of drone safety. If the growth is not adequately regulated and safety measures are not adequately investigated, the growth could increase the possibility of a drone causing problems at Eindhoven Airport.

Rotterdam The Hague Airport

Rotterdam The Hague Airport is the third largest airport of the Netherlands with respect to served passengers served, with a total of 1.943.733 in 2018[12][13]. As the name suggests, it is located between the Dutch cities Rotterdam and The Hague. Due to the airport being located close to the political heart of The Netherlands, Rotterdam The Hague Airport functions as the airport of the government [14]. Important international guests use this airport to go to the Netherlands, for example to the Nuclear Safety Summit in 2014 [14].

Missing image
Figure 3: General overview of layout of Rotterdam The Hague Airport. [15]


Table 3 below contains general facts of Rotterdam The Hague Airport, mainly of 2018.

Table 3: General facts of Rotterdam The Hague Airport [9][16]
Passenger amount 2018 1.943.733 passengers
Amount of airplane movements (departure/arrival) in 2018 53.322 movements
Total cargo load 2018 19 tonnes
Amount direct worldwide destinations 50 destinations
Area of the airport 222 hectares
Amount runways 1 runway


What is quite unique about this airport is that it has much more departing and arriving aeroplanes than Eindhoven Airport, whereas Eindhoven Airport serves three times as much passengers. The reason for this is the type of flights that occur at the airport. Rotterdam The Hague Airport also houses many flying schools. Here, people train their flying skills to acquire a flying permit as a hobby. These flying lessons are also the main contributor to the number of movements, with a total of 13.761 [17].

From this information, we can deduct some safety hazards of Rotterdam The Hague Airport. It is quite a small airport with not a lot of passengers, which means that fewer passengers will be affected, should the airport be shut down due to a drone in the area. However, there is again only one runway. This results in a single point of failure to prevent all aeroplanes from both taking off and arriving. If one drone would be flying around this runway, then the whole airport has to be shut down. Furthermore, the airport also serves a lot of passengers who are internationally and politically important, which increases the risk of someone who wants to disrupt this politically important person by delaying his or her flight. What is also important to note is that there are a lot of flying lessons and recreational departures and arrivals. In general, these planes are a lot smaller and are flown by less talented pilots than commercial aeroplanes. This means that a drone would do more damage to the smaller aeroplane. Furthermore, the lesser talented pilot is more likely to not know the rules properly, and would most likely handle more poorly in the event of a drone in the area. The consequences of a drone collision to a small aeroplane would, however, be smaller in terms of people affected by the incident.

Maastricht Aachen Airport

Maastricht Aachen Airport is one of the larger airports of the Netherlands with 274.986 passengers in 2018[9], however, this is really small compared to the number of passengers of Schiphol in 2018. The airport is located eight kilometres north of Maastricht.

In Figure 3 below, the general layout of the Maastricht Aachen Airport is depicted, showing mainly the single runway the airport has.

Missing image
Figure 4: General overview of layout of Maastricht Aachen Airport. [15]

Table 4 below contains general facts of Maastricht Aachen Airport, mainly of 2018.

Table 4: General facts of Maastricht Aachen Airport[9][18]
Passenger amount 2018 274.986 passengers
Amount of airplane movements (departure/arrival) in 2018 15.781 movements
Total cargo load 2018 124.676 tonnes
Amount direct worldwide destinations 25 destinations
Area of the airport N/a
Amount runways 1 runway

Groningen Airport Eelde

Groningen Airport Eelde is the fifth largest airport of the Netherlands in terms of passengers with 228.698 passengers in 2018[9], however, this is again really small compared to the number of passengers of Schiphol in 2018. The airport is located close to the village Eelde in Groningen. The airport has only one runway in use, the second (smaller) one depicted also in Figure 5 below, is not in use anymore.

Missing image
Figure 5: General overview of layout of Groningen Airport Eelde. [15]


Table 5 below contains general facts of Groningen Airport Eelde, mainly of 2018.

Table 5: General facts of Groningen Airport Eelde[9][19]
Passenger amount 2018 228.698 passengers
Amount of airplane movements (departure/arrival) in 2018 31.413 movements
Total cargo load 2018 0 tonnes
Amount direct worldwide destinations 11 destinations
Area of the airport N/a
Amount runways 1 runway

Differences

Back to the root page.

References

  1. ↑ Vliegveldinfo"Grootste vliegveld Europa" Retrieved on 2019-02-20.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Royal schiphol group"Amsterdam airport schiphol airport facts" Retrieved on 2019-02-20.
  3. ↑ Royal schiphol group "Schiphol verkeer en vervoer cijfers" Retrieved on 2019-02-20.
  4. ↑ "Wikipedia: Eindhoven Airport", Retrieved on 20-02-2019
  5. ↑ "Koninklijke Luchtmacht: Vliegbasis Eindhoven", Retrieved on 20-02-2019
  6. ↑ [file:///C:/Users/s165048/Downloads/7183-klu-infographic-vlb-eindhoven-a3staand-v7.pdf "Infograph Vliegbasis Eindhoven 2017"], Retrieved on 20-02-2019.
  7. ↑ "Wikpedia: Hurricane Irma", Retrieved on 20-02-2019.
  8. ↑ NACO,EA Infra werkgroep [https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwig9MLQ2szgAhXFblAKHejfBZ0Q5TV6BAgBEAs&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsamenopdehoogte.nl%2Fover-ons%2Fnieuws%2Fairport-infrastructuur&psig=AOvVaw1LoO6la2qC5v9x5hVz6RDh&ust=1550834409875173 "Eindhoven Airport Master Plan Airport Infrastructuur"] May 2018, Retrieved on 21-02-2019.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 CBS opendata "Luchtvaart; maandcijfers Nederlandse luchthavens van nationaal belang" Retrieved on 2019-02-20.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 ""Routes Online: Eindhoven Airport, Retrieved on 20-02-2019
  11. ↑ "Routes Online: Eindhoven Airport, Milestone Year 2018", Retrieved on 20-02-2019
  12. ↑ Rotterdam The Hague Airport "Rotterdam The Hague airport, overzicht verkeer en vervoer per kalenderjaar" Retrieved on 2019-02-20.
  13. ↑ "Wikipedia: Rotterdam The Hague Airport", Retrieved on 20-02-2019.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Rotterdam The Hague Airport: Geschiedenis", Retrieved on 20-02-2019.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Google "Google Maps" Retrieved on 21-02-2019
  16. ↑ "Rotterdam The Hague Airport: Feiten en Cijfers 2017", Retrieved on 20-02-2019.
  17. ↑ "Rotterdam The Hague Airport: Overzicht verkeer en vervoer 2018", Retrieved on 20-02-2019.
  18. ↑ "https://www.maa.nl/bestemmingen/"
  19. ↑ "https://www.groningenairport.nl/bestemmingen-overzicht"
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