INTRODUCTION
Airports are vital national resources. They serve a
key role in transportation of people and goods and in
regional, national, and international commerce. In
any construction or design of a building the primary
step is to select a site which is most suitable for that
building typology specially for public buildings like
airport. The site selection process includes a detailed
evaluation of project needs, which are then measured
against the merits of potential locations. Site
selection of an airport is the comparative evaluation
of alternative airport sites for their suitability. This
site selection process is crucial in case of airport as idepends on multiple criteria which are to be
considered, and then from the selected sites the most
suitable in terms of accessibility, topography, area
population , environmental issues and other
specifications is selected. Understanding this is an
important part of designing an Airport. Metropolitan
city Mumbai in Maharashtra, India and Griffin city in
Georgia ,USA are in need of new airports due to the
increase in the economic activity and the increasing
population. The case study on the two airport site
selection will help us in understanding the criteria of
site selection and the method they follow in the two
completely different places.

Site Selection Criteria
Criteria can change with the purpose and the type of
the airport. Although they can be changeable, there
are certain criteria which are important for the
authority.
 Topography:Topographical considerations that
should be taken into account are:
(1) the grading that will be required to meet the
standards for maximum runway grades, which
vary from one percent to two percent depending
upon the class of the airport
(2) selection of a site which departs sufficiently from
thedead level to allow adequate natural drainage,
but does not have portions sosteep that serious
erosion may result (3) selecting an location
where thesoil is pervious, yet has a suitable
amount of natural binder, and where the
watertable (ground water table) does not come
too close to the surface.
 Environmental Impact:This impact can be
categorized more than 3 subtitle such aspollution
impacts, physical impacts, ecological impacts
and historical resources.Wetlands, water quality,
floodplains, historical sites, pollution. categories are considered under pollutionimpacts.
The potential for noise impacts must always be
evaluated for any airport.Other areas include air
pollution, water quality, and solid waste.
Physical impactscategory evaluates potential
physical impacts related to physical factors
ofconstruction of the airport. Included in this
evaluation are impacts such as floodhazard, light
emissions, and the airport’s effect on energy
supply or other naturalresources. Ecological
impacts category evaluates the potential impacts
on the natural and historic environment. Biotic
communities, endangered species, and their
habitat areas are included under this category.
Historical resources category evaluates the
potential impacts to historical or cultural
resources that may be of national, state, or local
significance. This includes impacts to properties
eligible for the National Register of Historic
Places, as well as the archaeological potential of
each site.

Land and Development Costs: The land and
development costs of the airport should not be
excessive. In addition to grading, drainage, and
construction charges, the development cost is
affected by the availability of suitable
construction materials near the site and the
nearness of necessary utilities.
 Obstruction and Airspace:An analysis of the
relationship with the airspace requirements of the
existing airport system is essential. It is also
necessary to review the envelope area of each
site for the presence or absence of potential
obstructions to aircraft activity. Certain
obstructions may be considered immovable or
too expensive to move when other options are
available (e.g., large land forms, tall
communication towers, major power lines, water
towers, etc.). Others, such as smaller power lines,
trees, buildings, and roads, impose a cost of
removal or relocation that must be considered.