Of pirates and floating airports

Lately I've been walking around going “ARRRRGH...Ahoy matey!” I actually think that it is starting to make some people a little nervous. I’d like to publicly thank the Administrative Resource Guide (ARG) team for their hard work, and for the unforgettable pirate-themed presentation at the November 2007 SANformation meeting.

At that same meeting, Peggy gave everyone a pop quiz on the Goodwill Ambassador Program. Karen is awesome: Peggy had barely finished asking, “What kind of airport doesn’t exist?” when Karen screamed out, “FLOATING AIRPORT!” ARRRRGH to Karen! Pirates and floating airports -- hmmm...I am sensing an aquatic theme here!

At the "Fantatstic Future Forum" (Goodwill Ambassador Session #3, held in October 2007) we learned about how, during the Airport Site Selection Program and since then, the concept of a floating airport is frequently discussed.

Well, there are no floating airports that exist in the world today. Osaka’s Kansai International Airport in Japan (pictured here) is actually built on dredge and fill -- but it is NOT floating.


There are many operational reasons why a floating airport would be difficult to make work -- security, the whole undulating surface issue, storm water run off, air cargo and getting passengers to the facility. What other reasons can you think of, matey? Feel free to answer by clicking on 'comments' below.