Survey of 101 U.S. Airports for New Multiple Instrument Approach Concepts

Abstract : Several new concepts for multiple instrument approaches have been proposed to improve capacity and reduce delays at U.S. airports. The concepts include: dependent parallel approaches at reduced runway spacing; independent parallel approaches at reduced runway spacing; converging approaches; and triple approaches. One of the runways involved may be a separate short runway for general aviation and commuter traffic. A survey of 101 top U.S. airports was performed to determine the potential for applying the concepts to the existing runways. Specific applications of each relevant concept are provided. Calculations were performed for the top 30 U.S. air carrier airports to determine the actual delay improvement which could be expected to result from application of the multiple-approach concepts. Additionally, some general results are obtained for the remaining 71 airports. (Author)