Lessons as Ghana Prepares for New Airport

By Hannah Owusu Boamah-Online editor/property Express

7th June 2102

Over the past few days, the media airwaves have seen various arguments as to whether the location of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is safe, considering the recent air cargo crash last Saturday.

Notable among personalities that have called for the relocation of the airport is the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Kofi Henaku, an aviation expert.

A Nigerian cargo plane DHV3, belonging to Allied Air Cargo crash-landed and overshot the runway at the KIA, breaking the wall opposite the El-Wak Stadium, killing ten people on a bus and a soldier.

The event, took place at 19:10 hours and the aircraft is said to have crashed when it failed to land properly and decided to jet back into the air, but struck a communication mast belonging to the Ghana Civil Aviation, broke it wings and thus could not take off again.

However, this might seem the first time in decades that an aircraft accident had occurred in Ghana, but has raised serious concerns on safety, architectural and planning issues as the country considers sitting a new airport at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region. 

A glance at the genesis of the country’s premier international airport, which has the capacity for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-8, was established to serve as the aviation hub of the West African sub-region.

Kotoka Airport renamed from Ghana International Airport, in honor of Lieutenant General Emmanuel Akwasi Kotoka (October 26, 1926 – April 17, 1967), a member of the ruling National Liberation Council presently serves as a base for domestic operators CTK-Citylink, Starbow airlines, fly540 and Antrak Air.

Also alarming is a report in the Herald newspaper that reported pilots and  other aviation experts are raising alarm over potential plane crashes at the KIA, Ghana’s only standard airport, as a result of serious disruptions in communication between approaching pilots and the Control Tower”.

This warning was sounded after The Herald intercepted an alarming five-page report which said “serious security breaches,” had occurred at KIA with pilots complaining about poor visibility and communication at the airport.

In the wake for these calls, government says it is considering the option of building a new international airport at Prampram in the Dangme West District in the Greater Accra Region to ease the pressure on the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
The Minister of Transport, Alhaji Collins Dauda, made this known in Accra last Monday after leading a delegation to visit the families of those who died in the plane crash at the Hajj Village near the El-Wak Stadium in Accra last Saturday.
He said air traffic activities at the KIA had increased over the years and that there was the need to construct another international airport in the green belt as an alternative to the KIA, adding that a team of surveyors from the Survey department was already on the land working and as soon as the work was completed, the government would invite individuals and business entities interested in the project to come up with a conceptual design.

With such concerns on encroachment and security, there is also the need to carefully look at the architecture and layout requirement for airport projects.

Major factors come to play in airport layout and architectural, whiles measures are also been put in place to do away with encroachers and other security issues related to KIA operations.

To begin with, key among airport infrastructure is the runway.

When runways are built, their layout is influenced by many factors, such as aviation regulations, environmental concerns, noise level impacts, terrain and soil considerations, natural and man-made, obstructions, annual weather patterns, and the size and performance characteristics of the airplanes that will use the runways

These are all factors in runway and airport planning. Many issues are studied before final decisions on airport location and runway layout are determined.

Environmental impact requirements for airports were first established with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and in 1970 with the Airport and Airway Development Act as in the United States.

These acts ensure that due consideration is given to the effects on the quality of the environment and the surrounding communities in regard to airport expansion, use and development.

Before building a new facility or expanding an existing facility, an impact study or feasibility study must be done. These studies include a critical assessment of all impact issues from soil to air quality.

Controlling water pollution from airports has been well mastered by planners. Airports can be major contributors to water pollution if suitable treatment facilities are not provided for the various types of airport wastes.

These wastes include the following: domestic sewage, industrial wastes such as oil and fuel spills and high temperature water degradation that stems from the heat of various power plants in nearly constant use at an airport.

One of the most severe problems is that of aircraft noise in and around an airport. Laying out runways so that air traffic patterns occur minimally over heavily populated areas is a practice now widely employed during runway expansion and when building new airports.

Controlling the land use around an airport also helps reduce the interference of aircraft noise with the public. Noise abatement procedures during take off and landing make for quieter airport operations.

Such procedures consist of a faster takeoff speed quickly followed by slowing the engine once airborne over a populated area, then returning the engines to full speed and resuming normal flight operations.

This lessens the amount of engine noise over the populated area without adversely affecting the flight. Improvements in engine design have also been a successful factor in reducing aircraft noise.

Airports attract business and people, but airports are noisy. Businesses and people do not like airport noise. There are very few airports in the world where no noise complaints have been recorded.

Noise in the vicinity of airports generated from aircraft operations has an adverse impact on a community’s quality of life. At the very least, aircraft noise is distracting and it can be unhealthy. 

Airport operators are primarily responsible for planning and implementing action designed to reduce the effect of noise on residents of the surrounding area. Such actions include optimal site location, improvements in airport design, and noise abatement procedures.

Noise abatement procedures can include designated arrival and/or departure paths and procedures. Land acquisition and restrictions on airport use should not unjustly discriminate against any user or impede the federal interest in safety and management of the air navigation system.

During the 1990s, aircraft were required to become less noisy. This change was accomplished with the design of quieter engines and in some cases “hush kits” were installed on some older aircraft.

The change came in three stages where the aircraft noise level in decibels was reduced to less objectionable and less dangerous levels. As of the first of January 2000 Stage 3, the final stage, was implemented.

The noise level of Stage 3 aircraft is comparable to a busy urban street and is much quieter than the Stage 2 aircraft noise level, which is similar to an amplified rock music concert.

The ground on which the airport is to be built must have a stable stratum of earth upon which building foundations can be anchored.

The soil must be capable of supporting heavy loads without shifting or sinking. If the airport’s runways are to be used by heavy aircraft (airplanes with a gross weight of 300,000 pounds and heavier) the underlying soil and/or bedrock must be able to support the weight of the runway plus the aircraft’s weight.

Many airport runways have several feet of reinforced concrete to support the airplanes without cracking.

Other factor to also consider is the direction of the wind. Land at a greater elevation surrounding an airport such as mountains also has a profound effect on winds.

For instance, the wind pattern on the leeward side of a mountain contains dangerous downdrafts or “rotor waves”. An aircraft flying through such wind would encounter hazardous turbulence that would push the airplane towards the ground. These are all considered when orienting runways in an area near mountains.

There are many airports within mountainous areas where the runway headings generally run parallel with the length of the valley in which they are located or run along neighboring rivers.

Man-made obstructions like multi-storied high rises, transmissions towers and bridges can and do influence runway orientation.

Consideration of local weather patterns is also a factor in determining an airport’s layout. The weather patterns of an area, especially the prevailing winds, are a major factor in determining runway headings.

Prevailing winds are defined as the direction from which the winds blow most frequently. Remember that airplanes take off and land into the wind.

Let’s say that at a given airport the prevailing winds blow in from the west 65% of the year, while 30% of the year the wind blows in from the east, and the remaining 5% coming from the northwest. It would be best then to orient the runway W (27) and E (9).

That would mean that approximately 95% of the year airplanes would be landing and taking off into the wind. In most of Texas and Oklahoma the runways are generally N-S runways because the winds are usually from either the North or South. In parts of the Eastern United States there are many airports with NE-SW and NW-SE runways because the winds are more likely to change between those two directions.

These are among few factors to consider for airport planning and development, hence the need for government and stakeholders to ensure that the proposed Prampram project is executed to meet international standards and requirements.

As the saying goes: “if it must be done, it must be done well”, there is the need for more government commitment so to forestall any lapses and shoddy work that often mar the infrastructure development in the country.