In 2014, the Chicago Executive Airport’s (CEA) Board recognized a need for creating a new master plan because the old one has not been updated since 1984. The new master plan comprises three phases: phase I was developed in 2014-2015; phase II was created in 2017, and phase three was to be completed by 2019. This paper will summarize the first two phases since the report on the third phase is currently under approval.
The master plan was developed to identify the future planning needs of the airport. The CEA Board created four guiding principles on which the plan should be based: airport integration within local communities, fulfillment of the airport’s role, improvement of safety and compatibility, and maintenance of financial viability (CEA, 2015). The analysis conducted in phase I revealed that corporate operators were significant for the airport’s financial viability, and meeting the needs of corporate aviation users would lead to the maximization of revenues (CEA, 2015). The CEA Board identified an important compatibility issue, revealing that the airport’s noise levels had not changed significantly over 30 years (CEA, 2015). Thus, meeting noise compatibility recommendations became one of the main problems identified in phase I.
In phase II, CEA identified the constraints experienced by CEA tenants and users. It was discovered that the runway length was the priority for future improvements as its magnitude was insufficient (CEA, 2017). Additional constraints included a contaminated runway, additional hangar and corporate office space, airspace delays, and additional ramp space. Since the runway length was found to be a major concern, the second phase of the master plan was concerned with identifying factors affecting the runway length and providing recommendations for its extension. It was recommended that the airport should consider a minimal extension of 700ft and an ideal extension of 1700ft (CEA, 2017). Phase III of the master plan was meant to identify alternatives for airport development and create an airport layout plan as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
References
Chicago Executive Airport. (2015). Visioning report: Master plan update phase I. Web.
Chicago Executive Airport. (2017). Forecast and facility requirements: Master plan update phase II. Web.