Cargo Operations in Humanitarian ResponseAirport Planning and DesignFinal Project

Julia Moline

Agenda•Problem Statement•Case Study: Typhoon Haiyan in the

Philippines•Illustration of the problems•Proposed approach•Airport Selection in the Philippines•Conclusions and applications

Problem StatementTwo major logistical challenges in large-

scale humanitarian response:

1. Extremely limited storage capacity and2. Congestion at airportsdelays in cargo

delivery.

Case StudyTyphoon Haiyan in the Philippines

Typhoon Haiyan• Struck the Eastern, Western,

and Central Visayas regions on November 8th

• 12.3 million affected

• 700,000 displaced

• 5,800 dead and 27,000 injured

• Tacloban City, Leyte Province (pop. 200,000) completely devastated

Source: businessinsider.com

Impacted Areas of the Philippines

Logistical Challenges

IllustrationAir and storage capacity

Air Congestion• Volume• Time on the ground (TOG)

▫ Limited parking capacity▫ Limited personnel,

equipment▫ Aircraft type a primary

determinant of TOG• Reliability

▫ High percentage of no-shows

▫ Major planning challenges

Type Tons/aircraft TOG (min) Tons/hour/space

Small 5 62 4.9

Narrow 20 116 10.4

Wide 35 179 11.7

Storage Capacity• Physical limitations

(space)• Personnel and equipment

▫ Loading and unloading▫ Sorting▫ Tracking

• Security considerations▫ Major consideration!!!▫ Protection against

looting, other security breaches

Source: armedforces-int.com

Proposed ApproachRegional Hubs

Air hubOperations Selection Criteria• Shipments to remote

airport in same region▫ Relieves congestion

• Cargo shuttled between hub and destination at regular times daily▫ Increases reliability

• Scheduling strategy: maximize tons delivered rather than number of flights▫ Increases efficiency

• Slot availability• Physical capacity• Personnel and equipment• Low risk to natural

hazards• Accessibility to or

collocation with storage hub

Cargo hubOperations Selection Criteria• Cargo stored at remote

location until needed▫ Relieves physical

requirements at destination

▫ Reduces security considerations

• Just-in-time delivery▫ Cargo delivered only if

requesting organization can store or will distribute immediately

• Large amounts of flexible storage space

• Personnel and equipment• Labeling and tracking

capabilities• Proximity and accessibility

to air hub

Prioritization of Cargo Deliveries•By cargo type: Critically needed items shipped

first▫Benefit: Enables rapid delivery of most-needed

items▫Challenge: How are “critical items” determined?

•By entity type: Home government first, then others▫Benefit: Distributes cargo across entities; aligns

with recovery goals of home government▫Challenges: How is hierarchy determined? What

if the home government is weakened or corrupt?

Challenges•Coordinating entity and process

ownership•Buy-in•Process control for participating entities•“Temporary” warehousing•Aircraft availability•Personnel and equipment availability

Hub Selection in the Philippines

Airport Manila Tacloban Cebu Clark Field Subic Bay SubangCode NAIA DZR CEB CRK SBIA SZB

Distance from

Tacloban530 mi 0 mi 100 mi 530 mi 530 mi 1,700 mi

Runway Description

2 asphalt runways, 1 2000 m and 1 3400 m

1 asphalt runway 2100 m long

1 concrete/asphalt runway, 3300 m

long

Two 3200 m parallel concrete

runways1 asphalt runway,

2700 m1 asphalt runway,

3800 m

Cargo Storage

Limited, and mostly already in

useNone

Some cargo storage, though apparently full

now

Ample—many empty hangars

Ample—formerly naval base and

FedEx hub; cargo space is

therefore available

Storage available at UN HRD Hub

Arrival/ Departure Capacity

One of the busiest airports in Asia; limited

additional capacity

Extremely congested during Haiyan response

Extremely congested during Haiyan response

Not normally used

Limited air traffic during normal

operations

Fairly busy airport during

normal operations

Parking Capacity Some parking Extremely limited

Large aircraft maintenance area

could allow for some parking

capacity

Ample Likely ampleSome parking,

but limited additional spots

Loading/ Unloading Capacity

May be some capacity at Pal

Hangar, but limited

Extremely limitedMay be some capacity, but

tight especially with high volume

Ample, particularly with staffing from US

MilitaryLikely ample

May be some capacity from ongoing cargo

operations

Current Utilization

Some normal traffic continues,

and already significant

congestion of passenger and cargo traffic

C-130’s are allowed in; significant

congestion cause massive delays

and diverts

Significant congestion due to

humanitarian flights causing

delays and diverts

Not typically operational,

currently being used by US

Military

Limited commercial

traffic, therefore likely

underutilized

Normal operations

Operators Philippines airport authority

Humanitarian community

Mactan-Cebu International

Airport Authority

US Military is using it as its hub for humanitarian

relief

Subic Bay Metropolitan

AuthorityMalaysia Airports

Holdings

Equipment Available

Some available, not much

Loading/unloading equipment

limited

Loading/unloading equipment

limited

Some provided by US Military Unknown Some available

Hub Selection• Best Choice: Clark Field

▫ Former US Military base with ample operational and storage space

▫ Used by US Military as hub for Haiyan response

▫ Approx. 1.5 hr flight• Additional option: Subang,

Malaysia▫ Near UN emergency

warehouse▫ Used as an international

hub in 2005▫ Far from Tacloban

Operational Diagram

Internati

onal

Entities

Storage Hub

Air Hub

DZR

CEB

Normal Cargo Flows

Emergency Cargo Flows

Information Flows

Clark Field

Conclusions and Applications

Applications•Further research: queuing models for

scheduling and inventory levels•DHL “Get Airports Ready for Disaster”

Program▫Add considerations for partner airports

•UN Humanitarian Response Depot Program▫Design air capacity into operational

strategy for 5 international warehouses

Questions?