International Seminar on Regional Airports
Regional airports have become increasingly important elements of the air network system, both as feeders of hub-and-spoke services and as origin or destination of point-to-point services.
Congestion at the main hubs and increasing demand for air transportation (both for passengers and freight service) necessitates revaluation of the overall air systems, with regional airports taking an ever expanding role. Optimisation of air transportation systems within the framework of other forms of transport plays an important part in the present quest for sustainability. Congestion nowadays is not only associated with countries such as the USA and those in the EU, but also a variety of countries with fast developing economies such as those in the Far East, with China and India leading the way for a strong increase in air transportation demand.
The revolution of the existing airport system, including regional airports, requires the development of new optimisation tools which can simulate the whole process and produce optimal solutions. Those models are also essential to predict future demands and, in particular, the role that regional airports will play.
The siting of new airports involves taking into consideration a variety of environmental, ecological, social and economic factors which transcend the problem of transportation resources optimisation itself. Regional airports can be a powerful driving force behind the development of an area and conversely can result in major problems if they are wrongly sited.
All of the factors make the topic of regional airport studies one of the most exciting areas of transportation research. In spite of this, there is a lack of a suitable forum where researchers and practitioners can meet to discuss their work. With this in mind, the Wessex Institute of Technology has launched this meeting in collaboration with the University of Reggio Calabria.
The seminar will be of interest to engineers, scientists and managers working in industry, universities, research organisations and government; involved in the planning and management of urban transportation systems and transport policy.
