Which capacity relates to how close airports are to one another?

Which capacity relates to how close airports are to one another?

• A. Airfield Capacity
• B. Airspace Capacity
• C. Runway Capacity
• D. Terminal Capacity

Answer: (B)

Airspace capacity is about how much traffic the surrounding controlled airspace can safely handle. When airports are close together, the airspace around them is shared, so arrivals, departures, and en-route flows from both airports must be sequenced and separated within the same airspace. That coupling makes managing traffic more complex and can limit the amount of traffic the airspace can handle without delays. The other capacities refer to different parts of the system: airfield capacity is about ground handling and movement at a single airport, runway capacity concerns takeoffs and landings on the runways, and terminal capacity deals with passenger processing and flows inside the terminal. Therefore, proximity of airports most directly affects how much traffic the airspace can support, making airspace capacity the appropriate concept.

Airspace capacity is about how much traffic the surrounding controlled airspace can safely handle. When airports are close together, the airspace around them is shared, so arrivals, departures, and en-route flows from both airports must be sequenced and separated within the same airspace. That coupling makes managing traffic more complex and can limit the amount of traffic the airspace can handle without delays. The other capacities refer to different parts of the system: airfield capacity is about ground handling and movement at a single airport, runway capacity concerns takeoffs and landings on the runways, and terminal capacity deals with passenger processing and flows inside the terminal. Therefore, proximity of airports most directly affects how much traffic the airspace can support, making airspace capacity the appropriate concept.