A study of the need for infrastructural changes due to a runway lengthening at Norrköping airport

Sammanfattning: There are only a few larger airports which with a combination of freight and regular passenger air traffic manage to find economic profitability, often due to scale in their activities. Many regional airports in Sweden struggle with financial difficulties due to strong competition on he market and Norrköping Airport is not an exception. In 2006 the municipality of Norrköping overtook the ownership of the Airport from LFV (Swedish Civil Aviation Administration). This change of ownership became reality when LFV presented a request to phase out the airports activities due to low profitability. The municipality and especially the airport manager Mari Torstensson now have to find a way to make the airport profitable in the long run. Due to the airports lack of capacity and other limitations this study is made to determine what infrastructural changes is needed if the passenger- and freight flows are increased. This Master thesis is based on a prestudy of a runway lengthening made by LFV in 2006 and all the results derive from the assumption that the runway lengthening is carried out. The simulation study, made to analyse the passenger flow, tells us that it is possible to have departing flights with the size of Boeing 767-300 (315 PAX) without any major difficulties in check-in or security. This is as long as the number of check-in-queues is balanced with the queue to security. The baggage system has relatively high capacity but demands correct management from both handling agents and the X-ray operator. When an aircraft of that size is arriving to Norrköping airport problems might occur in the baggage claim area or queue to passport control depending on if passport control is necessary or not. With no passport control all passengers will be in baggage claim at the same time which will cause congestion in the passenger flow. Most of the changes will be necessary in baggage claim and the queue area to passport control. To be able to handle air cargo efficiently and according to current regulations extensive investments is necessary. Primarily in areas concerning handling and storing of the goods. Regulations concerning security states that no unauthorized person should have access to goods that are carried by an airplane, something that Norrköping airport today have a problem to fulfil. With the possibility to handle even bigger aircrafts than today the lack of capacity becomes even more obvious and investments in dollies and storage is necessary.