Airport Capacity Case: A Product Plan for Handling Twice Today's Volume

You are asked to double an airport's throughput, a 100% increase over what it handles today. Decide what throughput should mean, work out what limits it, and propose and prioritize the changes you would make, along with how you would track progress toward the target. ```hint Find the stage that fills up first Pick the unit you are doubling and follow it through every stage of the airport, asking which stage would run out of room first if demand doubled tomorrow. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What does throughput mean here: passengers moving through the terminal, flights taking off and landing, checked bags, or cargo? - Does the target apply to the busiest hour or to total daily or yearly volume? - Are physical changes such as new runways, gates or terminals allowed, and over what time frame? - Whom are you working for: the airport operator, an airline, a security or border agency, or a technology company selling to them? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A precise definition of throughput and of the target, agreed before proposing changes - A stage-by-stage map of the flow, with the limiting stage identified and justified - Changes compared on expected capacity gain, cost, time to deliver and which stakeholders must agree - A sequenced plan that accounts for where the limit moves after each change, with an honest view of whether a full 100% is reachable - Throughput metrics with guardrails for safety, security, delays and passenger experience ### Follow-up Questions - If the runways turn out to be the limit and a new runway is ruled out, how far can you get, and what do you tell whoever set the target? - How would you trial a change at a live airport without risking safety or causing delays? - Which of your ideas could a technology company build on its own, and which depend on airlines, regulators or the airport acting?