Spatial planning mistakes around airports are common and well known. Residential buildings that are not profitable due to aircraft noise, nuclear power plants built in zones where the risk of aircraft incidents is beyond acceptable safety levels.
It is not only the spatial design flaws, but also the process of permit applications that could be costly and frustrating to spatial planners. When permit applications are made for field developments in the vicinity of an airport, the government is usually reluctant to deal with such requests. The application process will be long and applications will sometimes – against all expectations – be rejected, which can lead to missed opportunities and lost investments.
Everyone involved in flight procedure design is frequently confronted with constructions around an airport which have been built where they shouldn’t have been. Wind turbines too close to current flight paths, buildings disturbing the signals of navigation stations, or skyscrapers frustrating the implementation of new flight procedures that are essential to keep the safety, capacity or noise level of an airport in line with the current required performance.
The financial implications will be major if flaws in spatial planning projects are not dealt with in an early stage. Real estate developments are essential to the success of an airport but if not done properly will negatively affect the growth of the airport. To70 has designed an online tool to minimize the risk of costly mistakes and frustrating delays: the Obstacle Limitation Evaluation Tool (OLET). A tool which provides clear, reliable and easily accessible information for all experts, within seconds instead of hours, days or sometimes even months.
With OLET a few clicks will suffice to get a quick and reliable answer to the first essential question in the decision making process: “Which (height) limitations are applicable for a specific building site?”
Without OLET, one should have access to a CAD or GIS system and dive into the 3-dimensional complexities of dozens of overlapping obstacle limitation surfaces (Annex 14, PANS-OPS, CNS). This complicated process is usually dependent on a few overloaded experts. OLET can save a considerable amount of time, prevent mistakes and improve the decision making process.