Following the opening of the new Athens airport, located approximately 30 kilometres from the capital in Spata, in 2001, and the opening up of the remaining airports to public-private management starting in 2015, the next big project for Greek aviation is the construction of the new airport in Kasteli in Crete, which will replace the airport in the capital, Heraklion. With an initial capacity of 8.9 million passengers, it will be Greece’s second largest airport, after Athens. According to the Greek government, this new infrastructure project will generate approximately 7,500 direct jobs once completed, plus another 37,000 indirect jobs in the tourism and commerce sectors.

Heraklion International Airport, is a joint venture between the Greek firm GEK Terna and India’s GMR Airports Limited (GAL), which were awarded the concession contract in 2019. Ineco is developing the design of the new airport for the construction company Terna, which has a period of five years to carry out the works following the signing of the contract, which took place in February 2020. In addition, during the pre-bid phase, the company also drew up the Master Plan for the future airport, which will occupy an area of approximately 600 hectares.

Air transport generates 457,000 jobs in Greece and contributes 17.8 billion euros to its economy, equivalent to 10.2% of Greek GDP, according to a study by IATA, the International Air Transport Association. It is closely linked to tourism, which also accounts for more than 10% of national GDP. Having weathered a long period of recession, the Greek economy returned to positive growth beginning in 2017, which is reflected in airport traffic, which, according to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, recorded a record 65.4 million passengers in 2019, 3 million more than the previous year, an increase of 5 percent. The total number of flights also increased by 3.7%.

Greece broke its tourism record in 2019, with more than 31.3 million visitors, 18% of whom, more than 5 million, travelled to the island of Crete, the country’s largest island and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean. With a population of just over 634,000 inhabitants and covering an area of around 8,500 km², it is one of the five most visited Greek destinations: its thousands of years of history, cultural and monumental heritage, the Mediterranean climate and the island’s beautiful landscapes and beaches are its main attractions. It is also an important geostrategic enclave due to its location. The local economy is mainly based on agriculture and tourism.

The island has three airport facilities, all located along the northern coast: the small airfield in Sitia, and two international airports, Chania, which was used by 2.9 million passengers in 2019 and shares its installations with a military base, and the Nikos Kazantzakis airport in Heraklion, the island’s capital and the fourth largest city in Greece, with a population of just over 313,000 inhabitants, in the central area of the island, which is also used for both civilian and military purposes.

Activity has been on the rise in recent years, with a steady increase in traffic reaching 8 million passengers in 2019. Today’s installations date back to 1972 and were expanded in 1996 and 2005, although they become particularly congested in summer. In addition to the three civilian airports, 39 kilometres southeast of Heraklion is the Hellenic Air Force base at Kasteli, next to the location of the new airport.

The construction of other major energy and transport infrastructures on the island is also being planned, involving a total investment of more than 3.1 billion euros and with the financial backing of the European Union: the roughly 180-kilometre VOAK highway, which will connect Chania with the town of Agios Nikolaos, and two power supply interconnections with the Greek mainland: Crete-Attica and Crete-Peloponnese.

The Barcelona-El Prat Airport has seen an increase in the number of wide-body aircraft operations in recent years. To manage this growth, Aena considered it necessary to increase the number of aircraft stands and boarding gates to accommodate aircraft that require a passenger boarding bridge and larger stands.

With the addition of two floors along the whole of the South Pier –approximately symmetrical to the North Pier– and the installation of several pre-boarding bridges, the airport will be able to serve more large aircraft on international routes.

Terminal T1 of Barcelona Airport has three boarding docks: the Longitudinal Pier, North Pier and South Pier. The Longitudinal Pier is generally used for Schengen flights, the North Pier for international flights (and also for the shuttle), and the South Pier for regional flights.

With the Addition of two floors and the installation of passenger boarding bridges, the South Pier of El Prat’s Terminal T1 will be able to serve greater numbers of large aircraft on international routes

Because of the different kinds of operations carried out in each one, the docks have different configurations: the Longitudinal Pier has a single level on floor P10, through which boarding and deplaning take place; the North Pier has three levels (P10 for domestic boarding and deplaning, P20 for international deplaning and P30 for international boarding); and the South Pier currently has a single level for boarding and deplaning.

Along both the North and South Piers, there are a number of aircraft stands that are used for operations with large-capacity aircraft (type-E and F). Due to an increase in the number of operations with these aircraft at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, the number of aircraft stands and boarding gates that can accommodate these types of aircraft needs to be increased, since they require two and sometimes even three passenger boarding bridges (at different levels) at the same time, and larger stands on the apron.

Aena will be undertaking two main infrastructure projects in the airport’s Terminal T1: the first one involves reconfiguring the apron of the South Pier to create 9 type-C positions, 3 type-E and 2 type-F. The second consists of redesigning the South Pier to adapt it to the new operations, namely, arrivals and departures of international flights and accommodation of large-capacity aircraft.

Redesign and enlargement

The South Pier redesign and enlargement project drafted by Ineco proposes an expansion of the constructed areas of the Terminal T1 building, with the completion of the P20 and P30 floors along the entire length of the dock (approximately symmetrical to the construction arrangement of the North Pier) and the construction of four new walkways with separation of departure/arrival flows.

Later, 10 new passenger boarding bridges will be added to the new walkways (two or three per walkway) to enable type-E and F aircraft to board and deplane with at least two boarding bridges simultaneously, in addition to a second boarding bridge attached to the existing walkway (P37) of the South Pier so that type-E aircraft can operate.

On 30 July 2018, Aena awarded the works to Sacyr Infraestructuras and Sacyr Construcción.

In December 2008, the initial meeting was held to launch the first Master Plan 2008-2028 for Sir Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica’s second largest city in terms of population and the tourist capital of the country. It was Ineco’s first job, completed in 2009, at an airport that receives more and more visitors every year, almost four million in 2017.

The growth of the airport in recent years has required various expansion and modernisation projects implemented by its operator, the company MBJ Airports, which was granted a 30-year concession by the Jamaican government in 2003. Over the course of these ten years, Ineco has collaborated with MBJ not only by producing the Master Plan, which it updated in 2015, but also by providing various specialized engineering and consulting services for both land and airside facilities.

TAXIWAY RESURFACING

The company is currently overseeing resurfacing work on the airport’s taxiways, which is being carried out in stages so as not to disrupt operations. Although other improvements were made previously to the runway, also under Ineco’s guidance, (see the box at the end of the article), this is the first time that Sangster International Airport has undergone a project of such magnitude, with work also being carried out during the day.

The new check-in hall has a striking suspended ceiling made from vertical mineral-fibre slats arranged in a pattern of zigzag lines.

This required careful planning and maximum attention to operational safety, and Ineco, in collaboration with the operator, was responsible for providing the contractor’s personnel with specific training before the work started in 2017. Ineco also advised MBJ Airports on the design of the public tender for the works, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

Check-in area refurbishment

On the landside, the check-in area, which covers some 5,000 m² and boasts 100 counters, will also be modernised thanks to an Ineco design and architecture project. The design is inspired by the natural environment of the island, which attracts holidaymakers –mainly from the US and Canada, but also from the rest of the world–  who come for its beautiful beaches, the warmth of its tropical climate and its lush natural surroundings. Diving is one of the most popular tourist activities, and the airport space has been designed to convey the seabed and coral reefs. The new design uses modern and sustainable materials to refurbish an area that shows signs of intensive use and the passage of time.

RESURFACING WORK. Ineco is supervising the overlaying work on the runway’s taxiways, which is being carried out at night to avoid disrupting operations.

The floor will be covered with large rectangular tiles made of a special porcelain stoneware for high traffic, with a polished sand-coloured finish. The existing check-in hall has different heights and irregular planes that need to be made more uniform in the design, so two suspended ceiling solutions were chosen to fulfil this purpose, and, at the same time, differentiate the various areas: a suspended metal ceiling consisting of corrugated aluminium panels that evoke ocean waves in the check-in area, and another suspended ceiling consisting of vertical mineral-fibre slats arranged in a pattern of zigzag lines, which highlights the access routes to the domestic flight area and security controls. These materials form a lightweight and sturdy suspended ceiling that covers and adapts to the existing height differences, and leaves room for the installation of an efficient and completely renovated LED lighting system and upgraded HVAC.

The use of BIM tools has played a vital role in the client’s decision making

As different building services elements (fire protection, HVAC, electricity, etc.) cluttered certain walls and columns, a die-cut sheet metal wall covering solution in three shades of blue was selected, evoking the bubbles and the tones of the Caribbean Sea. The Ineco project also includes a complete refurbishment of the toilets on the landside, with improved accessibility and equipment. It should be noted that the use of BIM tools has played a vital role in the client’s decisions to select the materials, colours and designs from among the different alternatives.

BEFORE/AFTER

The existing check-in hall has different heights and irregular planes that needed to be made more uniform.

The new design uses modern, sustainable materials to refurbish this area, which has started to show the signs of intensive use and the passage of time.

In 2015, a total of 20.1 million passengers departed and arrived on domestic flights in Peru, an 11% increase from 2014, according to data from OSITRAN, Peru’s public transportation infrastructure regulator. In terms of international flights, there were 6.3 million passengers, a 6.5% increase. In addition, more than 329,000 tons of cargo, including 270,000 tons of international cargo was moved. Despite the fact that this was slightly less than 2014, the trend for the last 10 years is clearly upward.

In response to this continuous increase in demand, the country’s main airports, which are managed through concessions, have undertaken expansion and modernization processes. The Peruvian government began the airport concession process in 2000, entrusting the execution of the work to new managers under public supervision. Ineco, in a consortium with the Peruvian engineering firm CESEL, is currently involved in the expansion projects for two airports:  the main international airport, the Jorge Chávez Airport in Lima, which was awarded to Lima Airport Partners (LAP) in 2001 (see IT53), and the Chiclayo Airport, in the north. The Chiclayo Airport is managed by Aeropuertos del Perú (AdP), which was granted the concession in 2006 as part of a package that also included the airfields in Anta, Cajamarca, Chachapoyas, Iquitos, Pisco, Piura, Pucallpa, Talara, Tarapoto, Trujillo and Tumbes (see IT58).

In 2011, the second package, of six airports, was awarded to another company, Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú, S.A., followed by the concession for the new Chinchero airport, to the Sociedad Aeroportuaria Kuntur Wasi S.A., in 2014. Lastly, the concession for the third group (Jauja, Huánuco and Jaén), is expected to be awarded soon, according to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

THE EXPANSION OF THE CHICLAYO AIRPORT

Aeropuertos del Perú (AdP) has contracted Ineco to prepare the Profile Level Preinvestment and Feasibility Studies for the upgrade project of the FAP José Abelardo Quiñones Gonzales de Chiclayo International Airport (see IT58). On 09/01/17, it received approval for the ‘Profile Level’ preinvestment document from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Peru. The goal is to increase the airport’s capacity from 451,000 passengers in 2014 to 2.6 million in 2038.

The new lounge, large enough for 40 guests, is located in the terminal’s boarding area. The space was launched in response to growing demand for a differentiated service, highly desired on an island accustomed to receiving all kind of artists and personalities who seek privacy during their holidays. The lounge has catering services, international daily newspapers, screens with flight information, a cloakroom, toilet facilities, television, telephones, fax, computers and a free wifi internet connection. According to Aena, its construction involved an investment of 281,586.91 euros, with the management being awarded to Clece, a specialist company that already manages other VIP lounges for Aena.

A project designed by Ineco

Ineco designed the plans for the 186 m² lounge, which houses the typical spaces for an installation of this type: a passengers’ waiting room, catering and office areas and a partitioned space housing the toilets and service area. The entrance to the lounge is inspired by the traditional construction of Ibiza: a trapezoidal portico, factory-made and clad in lime mortar, giving it a rustic appearance.

Once inside, visitors will find the reception area, behind which is the newly-built “capsule” space containing the toilet facilities and service area of the new lounge. The rest of the space is not compartmentalised, with the different sections being distinguished by the finishes of the materials and furniture.

The waiting area stretches along the airside curtain wall, making it the part that receives the most natural light. This area is distinguished from the rest of the lounge by a differently-coloured floor and furniture. “Islands” of seating are created by grouping together separate individual chairs around low, wooden tables and separating rows of seats, allowing users greater privacy.

In centre of the lounge, the waiting area is divided from the catering area by an office space, where users of the lounge can plug in their laptops and enjoy connections both to the Internet and to mains electricity. The space is made up a “bar” type table, equipped with power outlets and adjustable stools to favour working with computers.

Beside the office area, the back of the lounge contains the catering area, furnished with high and low tables. The office area features a fridge for cold drinks, a wine rack, a microwave and a coffee machine.

Access and rates

The lounge is accessible to people with reduced mobility. It can be used by customers of all airlines operating at the airport with contracts to access the lounge, and by passengers who have credit cards or loyalty cards from companies affiliated to Aena’s VIP lounges.

The lounges are open to any passenger who makes prior payment at the VIP lounge reception desk or through Aena’s website or app (www.aena.es). The current rates are 27.30 euros for adults and 13.15 euros for children older than six with free access for children up to five years old. Opening hours are from 06:00 to 00:30 in summer months and 06:15 to 22:45 in the winter.

In spring 1987, Peruvian architect Walter Alva attended a local police call. The police had discovered looting activities at an archaeological site from the 2nd century in Sipán, 35 kilometres from the city of Chiclayo, in the department of Lambayeque in northern Peru. The remains they found, which include the first intact tomb and grave goods of a Moche leader with his entourage, known today as ‘the Lord of Sipán’, were subsequently compared with discoveries such as Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt or even the Machu Picchu complex in the south of the country. Later on in the excavations, another 15 burials were discovered, as well as around 2,000 articles made of gold and silver, valued in some estimates at more than $16 million. Today, they are exhibited in the modern Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipán, which was opened in 2002 under the directive of Alva himself, and attracts 160,000 visitors a year.

Sipán and its treasure, which is one of the jewels of Peruvian and global cultural heritage, transformed Chiclayo’s demographic and socioeconomic reality. Chiclayo, unlike other Peruvian cities, is not of Hispanic but indigenous origin, and was the epicentre of the pre-Hispanic Lambayeque and Moche cultures. With almost 600,000 inhabitants, it is the country’s fourth most populated city, after Lima, Arequipa and Trujillo. Within a distance of under 35 kilometres from the urban centre, there are also other significant archaeological enclaves, like the Valley of the Pyramids in Túcume, which is a World Heritage Site, and museums such as that of Sicán in Ferreñafe or the Brüning Museum in Lambayeque, the oldest in the area, also dedicated to the local pre-Hispanic cultures.

To the range of local tourist attractions we can add the beaches in the region, such as San José, Pimentel and Santa Rosa, although this ‘sun, sea and sand’ tourism is far from having the same impact as the more cultural attractions. Despite this, in recent years, the flow of tourists in the country has reoriented: before the 1990s it was mostly directed towards the centre and the capital, Lima, 770 kilometres away on the roads, and towards the south, with the Machu Picchu complex and the plains of Nazca being the main magnets for domestic and international tourists.

The central and local governments, as well as the private sector, are aware that the potential for tourist development in Lambayeque and its capital, Chiclayo, has great development margins. The modernisation and enlargement of its airport, which is named after aviator and national hero José Quiñónez Gonzales, is an essential step in boosting tourism. The task is in the hands of the manager of the airport, the company Aeropuertos de Perú, AdP (Airports of Peru), which in 2006 was granted the project by the government of Peru, along with another 11 aerodromes.

Chiclayo airport opened in 1956 and, though it has been classed as international since 1994, the first regular operations of this type began on 28th June 2016 with the introduction of two weekly Copa Airlines flights to Tocumen Airport in Panama. In 2015, according to figures from the General Directorate for Civil Aviation (DGAC in Spanish), there were 7,813 operations, 431,840 passengers and 731,120 kilograms of air freight recorded.

AdP aims to increase these figures and boost Chiclayo as the air transport hub for the whole region of northern Peru. The goal is to increase passenger traffic fivefold to 2.1 million by 2031. To this end it has put in place a process of modernisation that comprises overlaying the runway (2,520 metres long and 45 metres wide) and, once feasibility studies are complete, building a new terminal building, as well as remodelling access ways and other improvement works, including a new control tower, firefighting services, hangars, fuel area, freight terminal, etc.

As this is a co-funded award, it is a legal obligation to plan lines of action as well as the necessary investment, and to have the approval of the Peruvian Government before beginning the work. In December 2014, AdP entrusted the consortium set up by Ineco and Peruvian engineering company CESEL –who are also working on overseeing the enlargement work at Jorge Chávez Airport in Lima– with the task of drawing up these pre-investment and feasibility studies.

First stage

The first stage studies revolve around identifying investment alternatives and assessing the technical, economic, social and environmental aspects of the modernisation project. During this stage, both the general conceptual design of the project and the specific conceptual design of the terminal building and other buildings were developed. The aim of these studies is to demarcate the key aspects of the project –what is needed and how it will be financed– to be approved by the concessionaire AdP, as well as the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The tasks undertaken include an analysis of capacity and demand, studying navigation easements and the general conceptual design, which enables certain basic standards to be defined for the whole project. Thus, regarding airside, we investigated what length of runway would be the most suitable considering type of aircrafts used at the airport, what would be the most effective design for the rapid exit taxiways; how to distribute the parking positions over the apron, how passengers will reach aircraft on foot to reduce turnaround times, etc.

Regarding on the land side, we analysed how to achieve the shortest and most comfortable distances and passenger flows between key points (check-in –security– boarding gates) so as to avoid queues. Modular growth is envisioned that will enable demand to be met. We have researched how to make sure access is fast and well connected to the surrounding area. We also seek to ensure that basic services such as a coffee shop and parking facilities are provided in balance with the other functional requirements.

In addition to drawing up the specific conceptual design for the terminal building, analysing the architectural aspects, placement, shape and size, materials and design of spaces, analysis was also undertaken of the investment necessary and alternatives were compared, and a study was conducted on the environmental impact, permissions management and general coordination of the project.

Second stage

The second stage of studies is feasibility, which goes deeper into the fundamental technical aspects of the first stage, such as positioning and size of the new infrastructure, the technology to be implemented, the timescale of the work and management of finances. Thus, in terms of airside, the geometric design of the runway will be performed, as well as overlaying designs and designs of traffic signing and road marking and guiding lights, of drainage works and of air navigation equipment and systems.

Underground treasures

The studies conducted by Ineco also took into account the physical and socioeconomic environment of the airport, indicated by tourist potential and agroindustrial activity. According to AdP, the airport’s development will aid in boosting both activities, tourism and exportation of agricultural products. Notable among the latter is asparagus, of which Peru is the world’s largest exporter of this fresh vegetable and the second in preserved form; more than half is cultivated on the northern coast. The department (region) of Lambayeque, of which Chiclayo is the capital, is the fifth highest producer of this vegetable in the country. It is exported fresh, preserved or frozen to Europe, the United States and other countries in South America. For this purpose, the concessionaire has announced that the airport will have refrigerated storage units for this kind of air freight. As regards tourism, the city of Chiclayo is located on the ‘Moche Route’ promoted by the Peruvian government, an itinerary which connects several points of cultural and archaeological interest around the axle of Chiclayo-Trujillo. According to the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, more than 923,000 tourists went to Lambayeque in 2015, up 7.4% from the previous year. 77% of foreign visitors came by aircraft, making Chiclayo airport the gateway for international tourism in the region.

“To create a unique symbol for each place”

Bruce Fairbanks, founder of Fairbanks Arquitectos, has accumulated extensive experience in the design of airport buildings since 1996 when he won the tender for the construction of the Madrid-Barajas control tower.

Presently in the world of airports there is a trend to promote the control tower as a symbol, an image that represents the airport and a reference point for the arrival in, and departure from the city where it is located. This trend has created increased interest in architectural execution in the design of control towers in addition to their functional requirements. It is precisely the individuality of these requirements that significantly affects the type of building, such that throughout history there are various examples of “types” of tower designs, which, once designed, were repeated in various airports: one notable case is the leoh Ming Pei control tower. It was designed between 1962 and 1965 with the objective implementation in 70 airports, although in the end 16 were built. The concept of locating in upper levels strictly that which was necessary was developed, putting the maximum amount of functions in the base building, which was adapted to the specific characteristics of each location. As such, the tower could be prefabricated and repeated with standardised equipment, giving the airport network an image of safety since a controller could work in any location without having to adapt. The tower was designed with 5 standardised heights (18-46 m) in accordance with visibility requirements in each location. The control tower’s cab is pentagonal so there are no parallel façades and so as to avoid reflections. In Spain, in the 1970s, Juan Montero Romero, an aeronautical engineer, built a tower, which was repeated in several cities: Málaga, Alicante, Valencia, etc.

To create a landmark, the architect must find within the functionality the characteristics that distinguish one tower from others

Converting control towers into airport landmarks and reference points for cities is a challenge in the work of an architect: creating a symbol, always unique for each location, which meets all of the requirements for the optimal functioning of the tower. The location, the height of the control room, its form and the layout of its structural elements are some of the first elements to define. Control towers typically have a base building and a shaft that supports the upper floors, which are designed to adapt to the control operations. Given the form, with an upper part and a lower part and the height of the type of building, in my opinion it is essential to incorporate the construction process into the design of the tower, and this is what I have done in those which I have designed. This design comes from an analysis of the functional aspects, the programme and the location. To create a landmark, the architect must find within the functionality the characteristics that can distinguish one tower from others and strengthen them to create a unique tower with its own character in each case.

Analysis of four cases

The following examples of control towers show diferente conceptual approaches to design this building type and the elements that diversify its design.

1962. Dulles airport, Washington DC
Eero Saarinen

The Dulles tower has all of the equipment rooms at a height, elegantly assembled by Saarinen with two juxtaposed bodies. The form of the tower is integrated with that of the terminal building, also designed by the same architect.

1992. JFK airport, Nueva York
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

The upper part of the JFK tower, 97.5 metres in height, contains only the aerodrome control cab and half way up the shaft there is the platform control room, which takes the same form as the upper levels.

1997. Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport
Bruce Fairbanks

The Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas control tower had the specific feature of a 400 m² equipment room located at a height. To resolve the transition between the shaft of the tower and the projection, an inverted half sphere was adopted, with a floor for air conditioning equipment being inserted in the support. The octagonal shape defined for the
cab is extended throughout the top of the building, the structural design of a central column and 8 perimeter columns is repeated on all levels.

Another particular feature of the tower is the construction system designed as an integral part of the design. The shaft is built with prefabricated segments assembled in spirals, which, on the inside, contain the service ducts and circumscribe the emergency stairway. The upper floors were built with a metallic structure on the floor and subsequently hoisted onto the shaft. The system allowed the tower to be built in nine months, without using scaffolding.

2004. Barcelona-El Prat airport
Bruce Fairbanks

The functional requirements were similar to those of Barajas, with the exception that a large part of the equipment is located in the base building. The resistant structure is defined independently from the functional elements of the shaft, which was developed as a representative design element. An eight-pointed hyperbola generated from the octagonal shape of the cab holds the upper floors.

The hyperbola links the tower with Catalan Modernism and Antoni Gaudí, who used this form in many of his designs, including on the domes of the Sagrada Familia. The construction system is a representative part of his design. The assembly of the hyperbola, built with prefabricated concrete girders, was guided by a central aluminium structure designed to contain the elements of the shaft. The upper floors were built on land and hoisted into position, supported by the eight points of the hyperbola, consolidating the whole structure when it was under load.

“In the future, it will not be necessary to view operations”

Roberto Serrano has participated in more than 50 aeronautical projects, amongst them, the NET and SAT control towers of Madrid-Barajas airport and the new control tower of Eldorado airport (Bogotá).

Although the first control towers date back to the 1920s (in 1921, Croydon airport in London was the first in the world to introduce air traffic control), it was from the 1930s that they became commonplace, due to the fact that growing aircraft traffic made controlling and managing it necessary. At that time, in which technology was nothing like the current systems, the need to visually supervise aeronautical operations around the airport was met by placing the control room (cab) in an elevated and predominant position of the airport (control tower).

To date, the first steps in designing a control tower involve establishing its site and the height of the cab. Internationally, to meet the viewing requirements from the cab, the recommendations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are applied. The optimum height and location of a control tower is the result of weighing up many considerations. The view from the cab requires the air traffic controller to be able to distinguish the aircraft and vehicles that circulate in the manoeuvring area, as well as aircraft that fly over the airport, particularly in take-off and landing paths. The objective is to have the maximum visibility possible and avoid the sun, external light sources and reflections from adjacent buildings affecting the visibility of the controller.

Nowadays, technology allows a practically blind landing

With regard to the location, we must consider the potential effects of local weather: flood areas or areas susceptible to fog. Its compatibility with the potential future development of the airport must also be studied, thereby avoiding the need to relocate the tower before the end of its life cycle. Insofar as possible, the tower and its buildings should be located on the landside of the airport, thus avoiding access through the airfield and facilitating the entry of staff. Furthermore, the location should be such that it does not affect the quality of the signals of the airport’s radio navigation aids (ILS, VOR, DME, etc.), or communication systems. The minimum height required for the control tower can be obtained with the aid of the FAA visibility analysis tool, ATCTVAT (Airport Traffic Control Tower Visibility Analysis Tool), in accordance with the physical conditions of the airport.

Once the position and height has been determined, the infrastructure is designed, and generally includes a cab and an antenna field, which, located on the roof of the cab, normally has communications antennas, radio relays, and other electronic and lightening protection elements. Furthermore, there are areas for staff, equipment, power, air conditioning, etc.

In an era in which technology provides information to pilots to allow a practically blind landing, is it necessary to keep air traffic controllers in a high position so they can see these operations? In the future, air traffic control rooms will probably be in buildings that are more similar to those of offices or air traffic control centres than the current towers.

The future has already become reality

2015. Control tower of Örnsköldsvik airport, Sweden

Recently, Örnsköldsvik airport in Sweden replaced its control tower with high-tech cameras. Signals are sent to controllers stationed in Sunvsal airport, located around 150 kilometres away, from a 25-metre mast with 14 high-definition cameras. The high performance of these cameras eliminates blind spots, provides information in rain, fog or snow and, along with a whole series of weather sensors, microphones and other devices, it allows controllers to feel as if they were beside the runway. The Swedish Transport Agency approved remotely operated towers on 31 October 2014. Six months later, the first airplane landed in Örnsköldsvik airport using the remote tower services.

Four million passengers in 2016: this is the growth forecast for the Rafael Núñez airport in Cartagena de Indias according to SACSA, the concession company. Majority-owned by the Spanish company Aena Internacional, in 2011 SACSA embarked on a project to improve and expand airport facilities, both on ground and in the air, in order to adapt airport capacity to the growing demand. Ineco recently updated the airport’s Master Plan which plans for expansion work until 2020 and has also designed and coordinated construction work (see IT48). Five years ago, work began on passenger terminal building renovations and expansion; work then continued on the design and surveillance of work on the runway, aprons, the perimeter road and the new FBO terminal for general aviation services.

The increase in traffic at the airport is associated with the tourism and industrial activity in this city –located on the coastline of the Caribbean Sea–, whose characteristic, walled historic quarter has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. The city stands out as a domestic holiday destination, and although the number of international arrivals has increased, the majority of the city’s air traffic is mainly domestic with connections to the capital, Bogotá, as well as to main cities such as Medellín and Cali. In terms of international flights, top destinations include southern Florida in the United States in addition to Chile, Venezuela and Spain.

In order to drive the tourism sector, the airport operator and local entities such as Corporturismo and the Cartagena City Council are committed to implementing additional long-distance routes both to North America –the city’s main source of outbound tourism– and to Europe –especially to Germany and Spain. Airlines are thus operating larger aircrafts, in turn requiring airports to provide greater capacity as well as increased safety and security –both operational and physical. Since all work must be carried out without interfering with airport operations, Ineco also conducted a study on the different stages of construction in order to minimise the effects as much as possible.

Greater passenger and aircraft capacity

Thus, the construction work that was carried out at Rafael Núñez airport met these requirements: the current terminal building which was expanded from 2011 to 2013 has grown from 10,491 m² to 19,370 m². Expansion of the international hall is currently under way. The runway in addition to the main and secondary (or ECO) aprons were repaved between 2013 and 2014 to repair damaged areas and to increase their load bearing capacity. The axis of the turnaround area was modified to make it easier for large aircrafts to move around, and signalling and traffic guidance equipment was also improved.

With regard to the runway, Ineco designed and coordinated the installation of an asphalt mix that had never before been used in Colombia: a discontinuous, BBTM-11 bituminous mixture (with additional fibres) in a 4-cm screed used on 1,740 metres of the runway’s 2,540 total metres. The asphalt not only improves friction conditions on the wearing surface, but it also facilitates drainage and prevents hydroplaning.

On both aprons, a P-401 bituminous hot mixture with a maximum aggregate size of ¾” was used with a BMIII modified asphalt, with varying thicknesses of 5 to 12 centimetres. The landing gear stop-way was also reinforced with 33-cm concrete slabs. Since there are fewer demands with regard to reinforcements on the perimeter road and pedestrian areas, a MDC-2 bituminous hot mixture with B60/70 asphalt was installed.

General aviation on the rise

In addition to the aforementioned interventions which are of vital importance in terms of aircraft safety, the increase in general aviation traffic was kept in mind. Private and military flights represent more than 90% of traffic at this airport, while the remaining percentage is represented by executive flights, school flights, etc. Although general aviation represents less than 1% of the total passengers who use this airport, it corresponds to 30% of airport operations and is expected to grow an average of 3.9% by 2020, totalling some 26,000 passengers and 14,000 operations.

Therefore, construction work was carried out on a new FBO general aviation terminal in 2014 (Fixed Base Operator, a company from the United States in this case), as agreed upon in the draft that had previously been drawn up by Ineco. The new terminal, located in the eastern part, boasts three different areas: airport authority, border control and entry/exit of passengers and baggage; a surveillance area that covers access areas both to and from air and ground, as well as security checkpoints; and a passenger waiting area.

The project included the construction of a new, stand-alone building with an electrical substation, a hydraulic pump room and a drinking water supply in addition to a handling office. Shared with the secondary apron, a new perimeter road was also constructed with direct access from Vía del Mar, the road that connects Cartagena de Indias with Barranquilla.

The growth forecast predicts that Rafael Núñez airport will see four million passengers in 2016

Ongoing work

Rescue and fire fighting services (RFFS) are fundamental elements when it comes to increasing an airport’s capacity. Aeronautics and airline regulations require that the capacity of these services must be rigorously determined by the size (total length and fuselage width) of the aircrafts that normally operate at the airport. Therefore, airports are categorised on a scale of 0 to 10; Rafael Núñez airport falls into category number 7, meaning that this airport would need a minimum of two fire-fighting vehicles, one fire chief and four firefighters.

Nonetheless, the new facilities designed by Ineco provide for the possibility, also foreseen in the regulations, of increasing these resources if, with prior notification, the airport needed to occasionally accommodate aircrafts corresponding to higher categories. For this reason, airport sheds have space for four vehicles: three fire engines and one light-weight commanding vehicle.

Seeing as this airport operates 24 hours a day, the RFFS requires staff to cover three shifts; thus, the new building has the appropriate facilities for said staff to rest in addition to offices, warehouses, technical areas and a car park. In front of this building there will be a paved clear zone that will allow for aircrafts to transition to the military area. Additionally, there will be two water deposits each containing 30,000 litres of water supply for the fire engines, and said fire engines will also be provided with a new access road, thus facilitating their arrival to the runway in under three minutes. Ineco is overseeing the construction work and is also monitoring compliance with the Operational Safety Plan.

Another ongoing project coordinated and monitored by the company includes the enlargement of the runway safety strip; in some areas, this strip does not meet the required distance of 75 metres between the runway axis and the border of the airport. To meet this requirement, ground is being gained from the area of vegetation by reinforcing it with 5-metre long micropiles.