Aim

The main aim is to plan, design, implement and maintain an extension of the current "Aeropuerto Internacional de Mérida" to cover the growing tendency demand in the short and medium term by segmenting the project in three parts: business management, air operations and air transport (since the point of view of an airline).

Scope

As the project is segmented in three main parts, there are three different scopes depending on each one.

Business Management

• All tasks of the whole project will be planned by means of Gantt diagram.
• Related to the monitoring and managing it will be carried out a weekly supervision of the assigned tasks.
• A website with the final project will be written up consisting on all the different studies done during the development of the whole project.
• In order to present the project for this segment, it will be prepared a slide presentation.
• All points and studies of this section will be performed according to the general guidon of the project.

Air Operations

• A study with the operations and their methodologies and regulations allowed in the maneuver area will be carried out.
• A study with the operations and their methodologies and regulations allowed in the approximation area will be carried out.
• A study of the operational procedures that will be modified will be carried out according to the previous analysis in which the bad practices and risks will be identified
• A document with this segment of the project will be written up as a summary of the previous analysis.
• In order to present the project for this segment, it will be prepared a slide presentation.

Air Transport

• Hypotheses and limitations for the proposed problem will be defined in order to be focused.
• A solving method and code will be defined and implemented so as to give a solution for the problem.
• A study of the solution will be given by analyzing its the results.
• A document with this segment of the project will be written up as a summary of the previous analysis.
• In order to present the project for this segment, it will be prepared a slide presentation.

Requirements

All the requirements that have to be fulfilled by the new extension of the "Aeropuerto Internacional de Mérida" are the following:

• Cover the growing demand in a short and medium term.
• Relocation of the infrastructure of the current airport in a new location far enough away from the urban nucleus so that expansions with future prospects are possible and which, at the same time, is close enough to be easily accessible.
• Comply with the current airport regulations.
• Must be economically feasible.
• Has to meet the social and vision expectations of becoming a more international airport.

Justification

The projected airport is located about 30 kilometers from the nearest airport, the Mérida International Airport, which it intends to free from civil aviation; and about 270 kilometers from the Cancun International Airport [2], the next closest airport and is also in its area of influence. The Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport or Mérida International Airport is located in the southern area of the city of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. This airport handles both domestic and international flights, and is open 24 hours a day. In spite of this, the airport now only consists of two runways of type 2C and 4D, allowing the operation of aircraft from type D to Boeing 757. The only terminal is divided into two rooms: room A is used for international flights, while room B is used for domestic flights. Currently 15 airlines operate in this airport, offering 19 destinations.

Thanks to the traffic forecast [1], it can be observed how the national traffic will tend to stagnate (figure 1) due to the population of Mexico, while the international traffic will tend to grow (figure 2) with a certain potential. Taking the value of 2017, an increase of around 10% per year is expected. All this information [3] suggests the short-term need for an airport with characteristics closer to those of a more international than national airport.

Following with this tendency, the estimated cargo traffic for the next 12 years [1] is an important parameter of the Mérida airport, which can not be ignored, as it is represented here above in figure 3:

So, when designing a new airport, there are two options: close the old airport taking into account this cargo traffic in the new airport or divide the type of traffic between airports, having an airport mainly for transport of cargo and another only for passengers. It is going to opt for this last option, since the existing airport is located in the center of the city and has the necessary infrastructures and systems for cargo traffic.

Therefore, the construction of the new airport will not entail the closure of the existing one, but with new, larger and better facilities it will only be used for the transport of passengers; thus relieving this type of traffic to the existing airport and thus be able to allocate mainly to the transport of merchandise.

An estimate of the evolution of the number of passengers over the next 12 years has been made. The obtained result allows to foresee a change of the profile of the airport, going from being of a national character to being of a mainly international nature, justifying the extension in this way as can be seen below in figures 4 and 5.

Background

There is a growing global trend that seeks to improve the existing connections between shopping centers around the globe, this implies the empowerment of all means of transport. Within the existing means of transport, air transport is the one that acquires a leading role due to its characteristics of speed, comfort and high progress thanks to advances in air navigation, telecommunications and electronic facilities.

Putting the focus of attention in Mexico, this trend can be clearly observed in the comparative statistics for the year 2017 and 2016 (number of passengers, operations and amount of cargo transported) of most of its airports, which are shown in table 1:

This growing demand for airport supply requires in certain cases (our case) an improvement in the existing air infrastructure: expansion of services provided at the airport, expansion of airport facilities through the construction of a new terminal, more efficient management of infrastructures, etc.

Another important thing that should be taken into account the current location of the airport of Mérida and possible area of influence to be able to relocate it. This has also been properly studied as seen in the figures 6 and 7:

With all this information exposed, current location, current passenger traffic, social needs and demand, it is possible to begin the development of a project that allows all these aspects to be fulfilled.

Sources

[1] Wikipedia - Aeropuerto Internacional de Mérida. [online]. [Consultation date:17/09/2018]

[2] Wikipedia - Aeropuerto Internacional de Cancún. [online]. [Consultation date:17/09/2018]

[3] Asur. [online]. [Consultation date:17/09/2018]

[4] Google Maps - Aeropuerto Internacional de Mérida. [online]. [Consultation date: 17/09/2018]