A Geometric Fuzzy-Based Approach for Airport Clustering

Airport classification is a common need in the air transport field due to several purposes\u2014such as resource allocation, identification of crucial nodes, and real-time identification of substitute nodes\u2014which also depend on the involved actors\u2019 expectations. In this paper a fuzzy-based procedure has been proposed to cluster airports by using a fuzzy geometric point of view according to the concept of unit-hypercube. By representing each airport as a point in the given reference metric space, the geometric distance among airports\u2014which corresponds to a measure of similarity\u2014has in fact an intrinsic fuzzy nature due to the airport specific characteristics. The proposed procedure has been applied to a test case concerning the Italian airport network and the obtained results are in line with expectations

Air Demand Modelling: overview and application to a developing regional airport

4 Air demand modelling: overview and application to a developing regional airport M. Nadia Postorino University \u2018Mediterranea\u2019 of Reggio Calabria, Italy Abstract Air demand forecast at airports is animportant problem for the airport management and also for the regulator that has to plan a homogeneousdevelopment of the overall transport system. The current tendency is towards airport privatization; then, the goal to increase the served demand is one of the most important together with the progress of non-aviation activities. The evolution of the air transport system both in terms of low-cost companies, thatgenerally use regional airports, and new technologies (as regional jets) has given a further impulse to the development of planning methodologies able tosupportdecisions for an efficient distribution of resources. Regional airports can play an important role in this new background if the most suitable developing strategiesare identified. This chapter wants togive a generaloverview about the problemof the air demand modelling, both in terms of theoretical approaches andpractical problems. Models are classified with respect todifferent criteria, and the most suitable models for eachplanning level are also identified.Anapplication toa regional airport inSouthern Italy is also presented in order to testsome of the described approaches and to obtainpractical indications aboutapplied models and developing strategies tobe used

Environmental effects of airport nodes: a methodological approach

Airports are a local source of environmental impacts that should be estimated and evaluated in order to promote a right development of these transport nodes. The aim of this paper is to present a methodological approach able to identify the environmental impacts produced by an airport node, particularly atmospheric pollution produced not only by aircraft but also by land vehicles for handling operations and airport connection, given the airport multifunction role as well as its interchange multimodal function. The identified methodology is formed by several steps; the most relevant ones are addressed to the estimation of the air transport demand (linked to the number of aircraft movements) and the car mode share to go in/out the airport. The proposed methodology is useful in order to establish standard procedures able to identify the airport environmental impact footprint for a sustainable development of the air transport within the larger transport system

Forecasting demand level at developing regional airports

The quantitative evaluation of different structures of the air transport system, particularly with reference to regional poles, is of great interest in order to choose if to re-valorise existing, regional airports in a wider network system or to build new airports. To this aim, a general methodology has been set up, within the research program \u201cGuidelines for planning the development of Italian regional airports\u201d, that includes the relationships between airport catchment areas and traffic zones as well as the assessment of the limits to the airport growth particularly in terms of airside capacity. In the general procedure, the demand estimation is one of the most important elements. Following the proposed approach, in this work time series models have been used to study the potential of Reggio Calabria regional airport (located in the South of Italy); both univariate and multivariate air transport demand ARIMA models are proposed to estimate the demand levels in order to capture both the trend of demand and the effects induced by the different policies adopted at the airport. Particularly, three scenarios have been tested following the current development plan of the airport authorities of Reggio Calabria, in order to verify the limits to the airport growth. The comparison between univariate and multivariate calibrated models shows that both provide satisfactory results