skyman 771
Sound comment.
My point is that I do not think that the layout of the airside area with the positioning of the current terminal lends itself to mulit-pier operations.
I agree totally that the current pier needs to be replaced.
I believe this could be achieved by closing the stands in the quadrant next to the 'old' ATC facility and putting in place a temporary bussing facility to serve ALL carriers for a re-build period. Other airports have achieved this so it might not be perfect but it can be done.
Demolish and rebuild the pier on 3 levels with the required separations and with airbridges on every pier stand.
On the North side develop a dedicated bussing departure facility with routings out to all the non-pier stands.
The terminal will need to be expanded at some stage - goodbye to the current ATC and management offices. There is no room there for additional stands so bussing is the medium to long term solution.
At airports where the right infrastructure in terms of fixed facilities and the number of busses (and staff) are made available and these are managed effectively the system works and the passengers accept it. There are a lot of airports where I would prefer to be bussed to an arrivals point near controls rather than a 1-2km walk to get to the same point.
NCL development was held back for many years, not because of poor senior management but because Government borrowing policies prevented the business from being able to access monies from normal commercial sources. Development had to be self financed and this stopped a lot of the more 'ambitious' plans coming to fruition. Imagine having a business with double digit percentage growth year on year, profits increasing year on year but not being able to access commercial banking loans?? To say that previous management were frustrated, JB the FD in particular, is a tad of an understatement.
Now that these restrictions have been lifted there is a lot of catch-up to do.
All is not lost, you could live in the catchement area of DTV!