鈥漈he vertical airport鈥�... a greener approach to airport design?

Abstract

The amount of air travel has been dramatically rising over the past 10 years. Rising fuel prices and more departures has airlines craving for optimization of current fuel consumptions. Usually the industry tends to look at optimizing the performance of the air-fleet, but one important element of air travel remains virtually unchallenged - the airport itself. With a simple redesign of the typical airport as we know it- using ramps, bridges and suspended driveways, it is possible to create a new topography for the airport, a new type of vertical airport with planes stacked on three separate levels. The aim of redesign is to enable airlines to reduce the total fuel consumption by millions of liters per day of operation. Further more it could reduce internal travel times by as much as 60% and will eliminate the use of toxic chemicals used for de-icing airplanes.