Mapping Obstacles around an Airport for safe Flight Operations
- Arpit Shah
- Mar 31, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
BACKGROUND
My college was located in a western suburb of Mumbai called Vile Parle, which—although I didn’t know it at the time—lies within an Airport Funnel Zone. Rumours often circulated that my University Board had allegedly persuaded the authorities to permit additional Floor Space Index (FSI) for their flagship campus building. The fact that several buildings owned by the Board noticeably towered over neighbouring residential structures was hard to miss.
AVIATION SAFETY
Regulated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Airport Funnel Zone ensures that aircraft taking off and landing are not obstructed by tall infrastructure nearby. As its name suggests, the zone is a strategic, hypothetical cone extending outward and upward from the shorter ends of a runway. All buildings within this space must comply with municipal height restrictions (FSI caps).
Safety protocols in aviation are exceptionally stringent—ranging from airport security checks to in-flight safety briefings, and even exhaustive black box investigations after an accident. Given the speeds at which aircraft travel, any technical malfunction, security breach or adverse external event poses significant risk not only to passengers but also to people and assets on the ground. Because flight operations are so closely monitored, aviation safety records remain highly detailed and updated in real time.
Despite the decline in accident numbers across various categories, the data should not be misinterpreted as these categories being inherently safer. In many cases, the positive performance reflects strong controls implemented for inherently high-risk scenarios—security-related (SEC) incidents being a prime example.
AVIATION GIS
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is an advanced mapping platform capable of supporting a wide spectrum of workflows: geospatial data management, location analytics, spatial visualization, and even imagery processing.
While the value of GIS has been recognized for decades, developers continue to expand its capabilities through sector-specific extensions—tools designed for military operations, solar siting, and drone mapping.
In this post, I demonstrate one such extension created for the aviation sector: ArcGIS Aviation Airports, a specialized module that supports safe airfield operations.
MAPPING OBSTACLES AROUND AN AIRPORT USING AVIATION GIS
The demonstration video in this section walks through the creation of an Obstruction Identification Surface (OIS)—essentially, the Airport Funnel Zone. This surface allows aviation authorities to assess whether existing or proposed structures around an airport (such as buildings, poles or construction cranes) pose a risk to safe aircraft navigation.
The workflow includes:
Loading an aviation-specific data package into GIS
Reviewing and understanding the existing data layers
Adding features representing current and proposed infrastructure
Generating the Obstruction Identification Surface
Conducting Obstacle Analysis using the OIS
Converting the output to 3D and interpreting the results
Credits: Esri LearnArcGIS tutorial
Interesting isn't it?
Incidents such as the one depicted in Figure 4—reported just two days ago (28 March 2022)—underscore the necessity of leveraging Location Intelligence to enhance aviation safety and prevent avoidable hazards.
ABOUT US - OPERATIONS MAPPING SOLUTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS
Intelloc Mapping Services, Kolkata | Mapmyops.com offers a suite of Mapping and Analytics solutions that seamlessly integrate with Operations Planning, Design, and Audit workflows. Our capabilities include — but are not limited to — Drone Services, Location Analytics & GIS Applications, Satellite Imagery Analytics, Supply Chain Network Design, Subsurface Mapping and Wastewater Treatment. Projects are executed pan-India, delivering actionable insights and operational efficiency across sectors.
My firm's services can be split into two categories - Geographic Mapping and Operations Mapping. Our range of offerings are listed in the infographic below-
A majority of our Mapping for Operations-themed workflows (50+) can be accessed from this website's landing page. We respond well to documented queries/requirements. Demonstrations/PoC can be facilitated, on a paid-basis. Looking forward to being of service.
Regards,
