Three-Dimensional (3D) Airport Runway Design Model for Tunceli Province

This research article addresses the design of an airport runway for the province of Tunceli, which is characterized by a geographically challenging topography. The study highlights the inadequacies of traditional two-dimensional (2D) analyses in complex terrains and proposes a decision support approach based on three-dimensional (3D) modelling. In this context, two alternative sites were evaluated. The first site, assessed using conventional 2D methods, was found unsuitable due to excessive natural slope and significant obstacle penetrations. The second site, analyzed through a 3D environment using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data in Blender, enabled the volumetric modelling of Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) and provided a more realistic representation of terrain-obstacle interactions. In this study, the Boeing 737-800 classified under ICAO Code 4C and widely used in Türkiye’s domestic flights, was selected as the reference aircraft for the airport runway design. Considering site-specific altitude and temperature conditions, the required runway length was calculated as 3200 m. The 3D analyses indicated full compliance with approach, takeoff-climb and inner horizontal surface criteria for the north-south orientation. Overall, the results demonstrate that 3D data-driven methods offer a more reliable and precise framework for airport planning in mountainous regions compared with traditional 2D approaches.