Airport infrastructure

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Underfloor refueling of a Boeing 777 with kerosene (Jet A-1)

The airport infrastructure is a combination of all buildings , technical facilities and systems that are available at airports for flight personnel , airlines and passengers .

Components

The infrastructure of an airfield is a fundamental and necessary prerequisite for the functioning of air traffic . In commercial aviation at airports , this is a location factor and is provided by the airport operator for a fee for the airlines .

In addition to the buildings include runways , facilities such as waiting rooms and offices , hangars , airport fire , communications equipment ( beacon , aeronautical radio , telephone systems ), elevators , moving walkways , escalators , Tower , surveillance systems ( radar , video surveillance , etc.) and navigation lights it.

Furthermore, the in-house staff such as cleaners, security services and information personnel, and also the transport links such as the airport stations to airport facilities, often the latter by state agencies promoted are.

Air traffic controllers are part of the airport infrastructure , but not part of every airport operator.In Germany, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH is responsible for carrying out air traffic control services at international airports .

Fencing of the site is common practice almost everywhere, but access control for people and vehicles only takes place at larger airports. Lounges mostly belong to the airlines or alliances, only rarely to the operators.

In military aviation, this includes other facilities, such as ammunition stores, barracks, etc.

Basic airport structure

Basic structure of an airport

An airfield can basically be divided into a land and an airside area. At airports, access is strictly monitored in both directions.

Access

If commercial flight operations take place, parking spaces, taxi stands, bus or tram stops and possibly a train station are connected directly to the airport terminal on the landside or have been placed underground below.

Airport terminal

→ Main article airport terminal

The terminal, on the other hand, consists - if available - of two departments that are separated by customs and passport controls (marked in red in the figure). All passengers and flight personnel must pass these barriers before boarding . In the front part of the terminal, which is accessible to all, tickets are handed in, seat reservations, baggage drop-off and security checks take place . This process is called check ( check-in ). Since there are often waiting times and visitors and relatives have access, a large number of shops, travel agencies, various restaurants and snack bars offer their goods. After passing through customs and passport controls, international travelers enter the duty-free zone , where duty-free shopping is possible. The terminal is then left via the respective gate after being called for boarding .

Airside area

The air-side area includes all parts of an airport, which are accessible for aircraft, such as runways (engl. Runway , RWY ), runways (engl. Taxiway , TWY ), run-up , cargo center and hangars .

The apron includes ramps and aprons. Ramp generally refers to the area immediately adjacent to the terminal, in which ramp agents load aircraft with luggage or pick up passengers. In contrast, the term apron also includes the parking and loading areas for aircraft that are further away from the terminal.

The freight and logistics center of an airport often offers complete logistics solutions in addition to its core business of air freight. The freight center is therefore networked with the other traffic flows via its own transport links. The cargo area also includes the baggage distribution system, which guarantees reliable distribution of the passengers' baggage, which was provided with barcodes when checking in, to the respective aircraft.

A portion of the apron or parking positions available at airports as a storage area for general aviation (Engl. General aviation (GA) ) are available. The pilots and passengers from this area leave the apron via the GAT (general aviation terminal) if one is available, otherwise via the same exits as the liner passengers and crews.

At many airports - often on the apron near the GAT - there is a take-off and landing area for helicopters ( heliport ). This is indicated by a capital H in a circle. A heliport is much more important at American airports than in Central Europe, as there many passengers are transported to the airport by helicopters to avoid traffic jams or as VIPs . At Frankfurt Airport, for example, you only expect two to three helicopter flights a day.

All facilities and routes on the airside that are important for aircraft can usually be found in a diagram that must be created in the USA for every airport that has a tower and is referred to as an airport diagram .

Control tower

The control tower, internationally known as the tower , is the workplace of the air traffic controllers , who monitor and control all movements of aircraft and other objects such as vehicles or the like at the airport and all flight movements in the control zone from here. Air traffic control is located here at uncontrolled airfields .

Technical facilities

Navigation systems

Many airfields are equipped with the VASI ( visual approach slope indicator ) or PAPI ( precision approach path indicator ), which serve as a supplement to an instrument approach, but are also used by visual pilots under visual flight conditions . An ILS (German instrument landing system ), possibly supported by on-board GPS , allows approaches at night or under unfavorable weather conditions. Today this is a matter of course at all major airports. VOR (German rotary radio beacon ), NDB (German non-directional radio beacon ) and DME (German distance measuring device ) complement the navigation equipment of airfields. By monitoring using air traffic control radar , the controllers on the tower can identify and locate aircraft in the vicinity of an airfield and accompany them on the flight path.

Meteorological station

Airports usually have their own flight weather service . It provides information about the local weather situation, provides information on wind direction and speed , wind conditions close to the ground, updrafts and shear winds , possible icing on the runway, etc. The pilot can use the information from the weather service to control and land the aircraft more safely, the airport operator the measures plan and carry out winter road clearance and de-icing .

When preparing for the flight , the pilots at all airports find out about the likely meteorological conditions at the field and along the entire route . This can be done directly with the aviation weather service or using electronic aids. Immediately before departure or during the flight, when approaching airports, the latest information on the weather, runway used, QNH etc. can be requested from ATIS ( automated terminal information service ).

See also

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Web links

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