Airports of the Future - Term Paper Example

Decision Support Systems constitute a class of computer-based information system that includes knowledge-based systems supporting the activities of decision making. Future Traffic The condition of future traffic is questionable. It is likely to grow in a much higher rate. This is due to the fact that the domestic market is not yet saturated and the drastic increase in population and national wealth. Increase in globalization will also give more reasons to travel for long distances for personal reasons and business.

The traffic has also increased steadily due to a reduction in costs due to such changes like deregulation of the economy by the airlines, lowering of the fuel prices, rise in revenue due to the introduction of yield management systems and more efficient and larger aircraft that have to engines and fewer pilots. The international components are likely to expand due in the future due to factors like growth or increase in the number of foreign visitors and improvement in the range of aircraft facilitating the long distance travel.

In order to adjust to globalization, airports will have to install customs and adopt international standards of service and communication. Cargo traffic is also expected to rise due to the advancement of companies in terms of systems of distribution around electronic commerce. The growth of cargo carrier will also be hastened due to suppliers substituting websites for mortal and brick stores and shipment to customers directly for in-store inventories and warehouses (Neufville, 2000). Future Airport Designs There are likely massive changes in the design of airports.

However planners must be careful as this may affect the airport’s airside in regard to the length, spacing an orientation of the runways as well as the landslide as concerns the functions and configuration of the buildings of the airport passenger. These changes will be as a result of increase in economic significance of air transportation that lead to individuals concerned to look after the facilities of the airport and treat them as businesses. Furthermore, there are estimates of the economic benefits that accompany main airport expansion that will surely have an effect on the future airport systems planning and design.

Airside: future airports with long runways that are unconstrained in their operations will allow the aircraft that is heavily loaded to travel unusually long ranges. This will transform the patterns of international travel drastically. New massive airports are will also be expected, those with sets of unusually long parallel runways. These will act as counterpieces of transfer hub or new economic area. The design of these airports will result to New Large Aircraft (NLA) that will demand separation of taxiways, runways and buildings more than is considered standard at the moment.

Therefore, there is a greater chance in the change of patterns of international and intercontinental gateways. Due to the increase in the level of traffic and number of airports in the metropolitan, main airports will not be able to hold all kinds of traffic. This will lead to the emergence of complementary clusters of airports that will serve international cheap fare or charter airlines. Landslides: airport passenger buildings will also be likely to change much in the future. The changes are likely to rearrange the allocation of spaces and types facilities in the