AIRPORTS

General Knowledge About Airports

An airport is a place where airplanes can land or take off. Most airports in the world have only a long strip of level ground called a runway. Many airports have buildings which are used to hold airplanes and passengers. A building that holds passengers waiting for their planes or luggage is called a terminal. The sections between the plane and the terminal are called "gates". Airports also have buildings called hangars to hold planes when they are not used. Some airports have buildings to control the airport, like a control tower which tells planes where to go.

An international airport is a large airport that airplanes can use to fly to and from other countries A domestic airport is an airport which is usually smaller and only has airplanes coming from places in the same country. Most international airports have shops and restaurants for airplane passengers to use.

An airport used by the military is often called an air force base or airbase. An aircraft carrier is a floating airbase.

Today, many airports think that safety is very important.. People must walk through a metal dedector, a machine that can tell if metal goes through it. If it makes a noise, the officers will make that person take off all things on them that are metal. They also have X-ray machines that can look into luggage. If officers find items such as weapons, guns, or anything that can be used to kill people, they have that item (and the person who has it) taken away. As well as this, passengers are not allowed to bring bottles or containers with over 100 ml of liquid onto the plane because they could be turned into bombs. Therefore, all water bottles must be emptied before entering the secured area.

Airport ownership and operation

Most of the world’s airports are in the possession of local , regional or national government bodies who rent the airport to private firms, which manage the operation of airport. For instance , British airport authority , which originally run eight of nations major commercial airports , have the state in the united kingdom . Then , the state was privatized in 1980s. After that , it was taken over by the Spanish constium, which has been deprived and made smaller to run just five of them .Beside, Germany’s Frankfurt airport is operated by the quasi-private firm fraport while indian Gandhi international airport, rajiu Gandhi international airport are managed by GMR group with joint venture in indianbengaluru international airport and chine shivaji international airport are managed by  GVK group.Also , the rest of India’s airports are controlled by the airports authority of india but commercial airports are generally managed by government entrities or post authorities in the united states . For examples , los angeles world airports authority that control a lot of airports in the much bigger los angeles area which is inclusive of los angeles international airport on the other hand in Canada the federal authority transport Canada isolated itself and the furthest airports in 1999-2000, but now most airports are owned and managed by individual legal authorities in canada. Also , most US airports still rent part of their facilities or all of them to outside companies , which run functions such as management and parking.

Furthermore , although all commercial airports landing fields are certified by the faa under the code of federal regulations title  14 part 139 “ certification of commercial service airports ", they are maintained by the local airport under the regulatory authority of the faa in us airports.

In spite of the unwillingness to privatize airports in the us , the government had contractor.

Airport Ground Crew

GROUND HANDLING SERVICES

Ground handling services include all the services an aircraft needs during the period it remains on the ground. Some airlines receive these services from a ground handling services company while others prefer to use their own equipment. They provides ground handling services in five different operational areas:

PASSENGER SERVICES

·         Incoming passenger acceptance and guidance to baggage claim areas and terminal exit,

·         Lost, damaged and transfer baggage processes of incoming passengers (if any),

·         Outgoing passenger acceptance for flight and baggage processes,

·         Safe acceptance of outgoing passengers to the aircraft,

RAMP SERVICES

·         Meeting and marshalling the aircraft,

·         Offloading and loading the aircraft,

·         Equipment supply,

·         Provision of Ground Power Unit, Air Condition Unit and Aircraft Push-Back Tractor services,,,

·         Passenger and crew transport between aircraft and passenger terminals,

CARGO AND MAIL SERVICES

·         Acceptance of export cargo and mail documents,

·         Physical control and preparation of export cargo and mail,

·         Custom transactions of export cargo,

·         Detection of disruption of imported cargo and mail if any, and taking necessary actions,

·         Notification of recipients,

·         Transfer cargo services.

LOAD CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS AND FLIGHT OPERATION SERVICES

·         Coordination of aircraft servicing units,

·         Preparation and distribution of flight documents (customs declaration, loading instruction, load sheet, manifest, weather forecast, flight plan etc.),

·         Load control, weight and balance calculations,

·         Communication and coordination between aircraft and ground services.

·         Flight permit and airport slot applications,

·         Preparation and distribution of flight plan to the cabin crew,

·         Coordination with fuel and aircraft catering companies,

REPRESENTATION AND SUPERVISION SERVICES

·         Making payments and/or issuing guarantees on behalf of the airlines to related institutions such as terminal operators, airport authorities, customs, police, etc. against all services provided and listed above as per respective contracts,

·         Establishing and maintaining contact with local authorities in the name of the airline company,

·         Preparing, transmitting and filing reports, statistics, documents, etc related to flights.

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AIRPORTS : NEW SHOPPING CENTERS

Like breathing , Shopping is a essential requirement for people’s lives in a daily life.  People need some places that they can buy something when they are in an airport even. Via this necessity , Airport buildings companies or management of airports publish commercial places in the airport to satisfy a need about shopping.

Today’s Airports are not only about transportation places but also shopping center. Especially large airports have a huge shopping places. Passegers can find whatever they want. They can find a selection of shops offering Duty free and Tax free shopping.

For example Duty Free centers. Waiting passengers can buy cheaper what they want to buy.These places have everything from designer brands to familiar high street stores, sunglasses to perfume and a wide range of tobaccos, aftershave and alcohol. As well as this, this commercial places includes cafeteria. Passengers can spend time and eat something until their flight hours. Technically it can be most correct that this shopping place is close to the airport lounge. This contidition promote to spend money to people.

As a result, Shopping places, duty and tax frees are indispensible for airports. Besides, They bring in to money to operation of airport. The management of airport operation companies should care about shopping center and they should improve this work area.

Sometimes, airports can be a little unusual...

Maho Beach in the Caribbean island of St. Maarten is not only a good spot for sunbathing, it's also a great location for plane spotting. The beach is famous for being literally steps away from the runway of Princess Juliana International Airport, with planes flying very low over tourists to touch down as close as possible to the beginning of Runway 10.  Due to the short runway length (7,150 feet), planes on their final approach need to fly over the beach at minimal altitude, and pilots have been known to become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules because the approach to the runway is over water, according to the Daily Mail. And it gets even scarier. The departure is even more difficult than the approach, with a turn required to avoid mountains in the departure path. 

Last month, Brazilian photographer Daniel Botelho captured incredible images (see slideshow above) of the low-flying planes at Maho Beach as the fly just feet above swimming tourists. Botelho spent eight hours a day in the water to capture the perfect shots. "I've been in the water with great whites with no cage, Nile crocodiles, giant squids, blue whales, but I can tell that these airplanes were really tough to capture as their landing speed is not less than 300 km per hour," he told the Daily Mail.

RUNWAY INFORMATIONS

Runway

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (grass, dirt, gravel, ice, or salt).

Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally the magnetic azimuth of the runway's heading in degrees. A runway numbered 09 points east (90°), runway 18 is south (180) etc. When taking off from or landing on runway 12, a plane would be heading 120°. A runway can normally be used in both directions, and is named for each direction separately. For example runway 29 in one direction is runway 11 when used in the other. The two numbers always differ by 18 (= 180°).

How Many Runways ?

 

In this example there are two parallel runways and two directions and that makes 4 runways. Those are 8L, 8R, 26L, 26R. L means left and Right means right.

Definitions

Takeoff and landing distances available are given using one of the following terms:

TORA

Takeoff Run Available – The length of runway declared available and suitable for the ground run of an airplane taking off.

TODA

Takeoff Distance Available – The length of the takeoff run available plus the length of the clearway, if clearway is provided.

ASDA

Accelerate-Stop Distance Available – The length of the takeoff run available plus the length of the stopway, if stopway is provided.

LDA

Landing Distance Available – The length of runway that is declared available and suitable for the ground run of an airplane landing.

EDA

Emergency Distance Available – LDA (or TORA) plus a stopway.

RUNWAY SHOULDERS

Runway shoulders provide resistance to blast erosion and accommodate the passage of maintenance and emergency equipment and the occasional passage of an airplane veering from the runway.

 

The runway shoulders should extend symmetrically on each side of the runway so that the

overall width of the runway and its shoulders is not less than:

 — 60 m where the code letter is D or E; and

       — 75 m where the code letter is F.

So we can say that if we exclude the runway width, runway shoulders width must be like the following;

 

RUNWAY TURN PADS

      Where the end of a runway is not served by a taxiway or a taxiway turnaround , a runway turn pad shall be provided to facilitate a 180-degree turn of aeroplanes.Such areas may also be useful if provided along a runway to reduce taxiing time and distance for aeroplanes which may not require the full length of the runway.

— The runway turn pad may be located on either the left or right side of the runway and adjoining the runway pavement at both ends of the runway and at some intermediate locations where deemed necessary.

The initiation of the turn would be facilitated by locating the turn pad on the left side of the runway, since the left seat is the normal position of the pilot-in-command.The intersection angle of the runway turn pad with the runway should not exceed 30 degrees.The nose wheel steering angle to be used in the design of the runway turn pad should not exceed 45 degrees.The design of a runway turn pad shall be such that, when the cockpit of the aeroplane for which the turn pad is intended remains over the turn pad marking, the clearance distance between any wheel of the aeroplane landing gear and the edge of the turn pad shall be not less than that given by the following tabulation:

Code letter Clearance

A                                     1.5 m

B                                     2.25 m

C                                      3 m                     if the turn pad is intended to be used by aeroplanes with a wheel base less than 18 m;

                                              4.5 m                 if the turn pad is intended to be   used by aeroplanes with a wheel base equal to or greater than 18 m.

D                                    4.5 m

E                                     4.5 m

F                                     4.5 m

Note.— Wheel base means the distance from the nose gear to the geometric centre of the main gear.

  The strength of a runway turn pad should be at least equal to that of the adjoining runway which it serves, due consideration being given to the fact that the turn pad will be subjected to slow-moving traffic making hard turns and consequent higher stresses on the pavement.

  Where a runway turn pad is provided with flexible pavement, the surface would need to be capable of withstanding the horizontal shear forces exerted by the main landing gear tires during turning manoeuvres.The runway turn pads should be provided with shoulders of such width as is necessary to prevent surface erosion by the jet blast of the most demanding aeroplane for which the turn pad is intended, and any possible foreign object damage to the aeroplane engines.As a minimum, the width of the shoulders would need to cover the outer engine of the most demanding aeroplane and thus may be wider than the associated runway shoulders.Runway and any associated stopways shall be included in a strip.

   Length of runway strips

   A strip shall extend before the threshold and beyond the end of the runway or stopway for a distance of at least:

  60 m where the code number is 2, 3 or 4;

  60 m where the code number is 1 and the runway is an instrument one; and

  30 m where the code number is 1 and the runway is a non-instrument one.

Slopes on runway strips

    Longitudinal slopes

   Slope changes on that portion of a strip to be graded should be as gradual as practicable and abrupt changes or sudden reversals of slopes avoided.

Transverse slopes

— The transverse slopes of any portion of a strip beyond that to be graded should not exceed an upward slope of 5 per cent as measured in the direction away from the runway

Strength of runway strips

   From the centre line of the runway and its extended centre line should be so prepared or constructed as to minimize hazards arising from differences in load-bearing capacity to aeroplanes which the runway is intended to serve in the event of an aeroplane running off the runway.

RUNWAY END SAFETY AREAS

The runway safety area is the cleared, smoothed and graded area around the paved runway. It is kept free from any obstacles that might impede flight or ground roll of aircraft.

Length of Resa

if the runway code is 3 or 4 – 240 m; or

If the runway code is 1 or 2 – 120 m.

 

The transverse slope of a RESA will not be more than 5% upwards or downwards.

As far as practicable, a RESA will be prepared or constructed so as to reduce the risk of damage to an aero plane, enhance aero plane deceleration and facilitate the movement of rescue and fire fighting vehicles.

A runway end safety area should be provided at each end of a runway strip where the code number is 1 or 2 and the runway is a non-instrument one.

Runway End Safety Area (RESA);

Defined in Annex 14

At each end of runway strip

Purpose is to reduce the risk of damage to an airplane undershooting or overrunning the runway

Not included in declared distances

Minimum length is 90 m

Width is twice that of runway

  

Kaya YAVUZ

Flight Training