Originally Posted by
deptrai
Quote:Ian W
And as I said before a few extra square meters of concrete would solve most problems.
Agreed. However most airport authorities face budget and zoning constraints. Decades old airports grew "organically", and the original planners never envisioned the capacity the airports serve now. "A few" more square meters would help a lot, but it's not something I hold my breath for.
The one thing that the airport beancounters want is runway movements. Increasing the runway hit rate is a direct input to their coffers. If the airport surface design makes taxiing awkward and inefficient then the hit rate will be reduced and airport income will reduce with it.
A few square meters of concrete may cost an immediate capital amount but the cost benefit could be huge. Many airports now
are rebuilding ORPs in the form of penalty boxes just short of the runway so aircraft can be reordered for departure or be held out of the way of taxiing aircraft if given a ground hold. This is a very simple option; it is non-technical has no advanced electronics and works. The concrete is also probably cheaper than an electronic system.