One of the main issues in The Netherlands in 1999 was the discussion for the need for a new airport. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is growing towards its maximum capacity, due to space and environmental restrictions. The Dutch government looked for alternatives for facilitating the expected volume demand. One of the most discussed alternatives is the construction of an airport on an artificial island a few kilometres out of the coast of the Netherlands. As an exercise as part of a course addressing the subjects such as `systems engineering' and `integrated logistic support', it became an interesting problem field for use in a case study. As part of the course a research and teaching method was developed based on some basic concepts such as the necessary requirements for capacity, availability and maintainability for a small airport. Because the to be built airport was to be located in sea, the connection with the current location of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol just south of Amsterdam, and the way the transition during the construction of the new airport will take place, were issues the students had to cope with. (A)
Abstract