Centerlines - September 2008 - (Page 36) HOST AIRPORT KEEPING BOSTON LOGAN AHEAD OF THE CURVE B Y N IC OL E N E L S ON espite a dip in activity as a result of record high fuel prices and airline industry consolidation, Boston Logan International Airport has plans in place for congestion management of both planes and automobiles. Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) officials adopted a demand management plan as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) 2001 Record of Decision (ROD) to build Runway 14/32. The airport’s newest runway was commissioned Nov. 23, 2006, with the intent to provide the FAA air traffic control tower a second major arrival runway to relieve R33L during strong northwest winds. With the strong northwest winds, weather in Boston tends to be, “the cleanest and clearest weather you can see with crystal clear blue skies,” said Massport CEO and Executive Director Tom Kinton. In other words, weather delays in Boston lack the tangible aspects of fog, snow and rain where the traveling public inherently sees air traffic slow down with understanding and acceptance. “We had to make a sincere effort to get this runway built in order to alleviate delays that were strictly weather related,” said Kinton, noting that airport officials agreed to a number of restrictions in order to bring the project to term. “Our passengers couldn’t understand why Boston was delayed in seemingly good weather.” D AT peak hours, Logan has the airfield capacity to accommodate 120 operations per hour during visual flight rules conditions. Runway 14/32 Caveats Kinton said that Runway 14/32 is among the most restricted runways in America. Massport agreed to restrictions including unidirectionality, which demands that departures and arrivals take place over the water of Boston Harbor rather than over the land of the local communities. In addition, Massport may only use its newest stretch of pavement when northwesterly winds are 10 nautical miles or higher. “I don’t know of any other runways that have these types of restrictions,” Kinton said, noting that plenty of runways have restrictions for height and terrain, but none other than 14/32 are imposed as a result of the ROD to get it built. “While we don’t necessarily like to have restrictions, we knew if we could get it within the confines of the restrictions, it would still do the job and solve our northwest wind delay problems, which it has done.” 36 CENTERLINES | SEPTEMBER 2008
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