Graham Warwick/ORLANDO
THINK OF ORLANDO, Florida, and you are likely to think of Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World. Managers of Orlando International Airport would like you to think also of a vibrant community of young, affluent, people, working not only in tourism, but also in the film industry and high-technology sectors such as space and simulation.
While the growth of central Florida's tourist industry is central to the airport's development plans, only about one-third of the passengers using Orlando are visiting the attractions. One-third travel on business (including conventions) and the remainder are locals, a balance which Greater Orlando Airport Authority executive director Bob Bullock sees as one of the airport's strengths.
Attendance at central Florida's tourist attractions, principally that of Disney, is projected to grow to 61 million people annually by 2000, up from 51 million in 1995. Over the same period, Orlando Airport traffic is forecast to increase to more than 30 million passengers annually, up from 23 million in 1995. The link between the airport and the attractions is evident, but central Florida's growing, and diversifying, economy is equally important to the airport's future plans.
FUTURE VISION
Orlando Airport appears well placed for the future. Although ranked only eighteenth in the USA, based on passenger figures for 1995, its 6,000Ha (15,000 acres) of land makes it the third-largest, after Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth. In acquiring "a lot of land", airport developers had "tremendous vision", acknowledges Bullock. Even today, fewer than 300 people live within the airport's noise-affected area.
Only 30% developed, the existing land is enough to support 1 million take-offs and landings and 110 million passengers a year - greater than any airport in existence, Bullock notes. Orlando's planning horizons are more modest: 30 million passengers annually, conservatively expected to be achieved around the turn of the century; 37.5 million, forecast for about 2005; and 55 million travellers, projected for around 2015.
Tied to each of these horizons are infrastructure improvements required to handle the increased traffic while maintaining the level of service now provided by Orlando - recently rated number one in North America and fourth in the world for overall customer convenience.
The terminal, for example, is designed to handle 22.5 million passengers annually, a level passed in 1995, but it can accommodate up to 27 million, with deteriorating service levels. A fourth-gate satellite is planned, and concrete for the apron already poured, which will increase capacity to 35 million when built. Beyond that, a south terminal will be needed, for which planning is already under way.
A fourth runway "-is already planned and permitted", says Bullock, and will be needed shortly after passenger traffic passes 30 million. At the same time, Orlando will be equipped to allow "triple-flow independent, simultaneous, approaches in instrument-meteorological conditions" - in other words, three simultaneous parallel approaches, regardless of weather. Beyond that, runway extensions and taxiway expansions, already planned, will be needed, to accommodate increased traffic.
If Bullock has a concern, it is with the ability of central Florida's road network to handle projected increases in airport traffic. With only 15% of incoming passengers transferring to other flights without leaving the airport, projected growth will strain the existing roads.
He says that "aggressive planning" is already under way with the local authority, which is also the airport's owner. Bullock believes that, within 15 years, "Airport" will no longer be part of Orlando International's title. The present focus of development is on turning the airport into a multi-modal transportation centre, connecting passengers and cargo with air, surface, and even sea transport.
Orlando Airport has been designated the north terminus of the Florida Fun Train, described by Bullock as "-Florida's next tourist attraction - the train as an experience". Starting in Fort Lauderdale, and featuring panoramic cars and virtual-reality games, the Fun Train could be in operation by 1998.
High-speed-train link
Looking further ahead, Bullock says that the state is in franchise negotiations with Florida Overland Express Group, which is bidding to build a high-speed rail link between Miami, Orlando and Tampa. The group, which includes Canada's Bombardier, is planning to use French TGV high-speed trains. The Miami-Orlando journey would take 1h 20min and Orlando-Tampa 40min. The state plans to provide $70 million a year in funding support, and the rail link could be operational by 2006-7, linking Orlando Airport with Florida's two other transportation hubs.
In the near term, growth at Orlando International Airport will come from its core customers - the airlines. Emerging low-cost carriers are likely to contribute to that growth. ValuJet Airlines serves Orlando, as does Southwest Airlines, which moved into Florida earlier this year. Orlando even has its own low-cost carrier, AirTran Airways.
Bullock says that the airport controls 19 of its gates - unusual in the USA - allowing it to offer immediate access to a new carrier.
Source: Flight International
