Airport site selection based on multicriteria analysis: the case study of the island of Samothraki

The investigation of alternative sites for the construction of a new airport is a complex task that involves the cooperation among scientists having complementary disciplines. A typical investigation comprises a thorough examination of all pertinent factors: existing and foreseen land use planning, characteristics of wind and weather conditions, operational and safety aspects, interference with the existing road network, earthworks, construction and expropriation costs as well as environmental and socio-economic impacts. The preliminary analysis of the above aspects usually results in more than one alternative solution that satisfies the above criteria in different ways. The next step is the selection of the most appropriate solution, where the use of multi-criteria techniques can be of great value. The scope of this work is to describe such a multicriteria approach, performed within the decision making process concerning the site selection for the development of a new airport at the island of Samothraki.