How Airports Work

You've probably been to airports many times -- they are so familiar you may not pay much attention to them anymore. But if you go behind the scenes, airports are amazing "minicities," providing services to all sorts of people and companies. Air travelers, airlines, private pilots and freight carriers all use airports in completely different ways. You can get an idea of ust how amazing airports are when you consider this! At a typical large airport in the "nited #tates, over $%%-million people can flow through in ust one year. &hen you consider that the population of the "nited #tates is only '%%-million or so, that's a pretty startling statistic(

Tons of People
Any ma or airport has lots of customers, most of them passengers. Atlanta's )artsfield *nternational Airport, for e+ample, handles ,,-%% flights every day .one flight every -% seconds, ,- hours a day(/ carrying hundreds of thousands of people. 0hat adds up to 1,-million domestic and 12-million international passengers passing through )artsfield each year. 0hat's a lot of people, and most of those $3%-million are going to want to grab a bite, use the restroom, maybe buy a magazine... 0o meet passengers' needs, an airport must!

be accessible by roadways and public transportation, plus have plenty of par4ing have areas for tic4eting, chec4-in and baggage handling 4eep the passengers safe offer food and other services maintain areas for the customs service

Airports have other customers to ta4e care of, too.

Airlines need space for airplanes, facilities for routine maintenance, et fuel and places for passengers and flight crews while on the ground.

Air-freight companies need space for loading and unloading cargo airplanes. 5ilots and other crew members need runways, aircraft fuel, air-traffic information, facilities for aircraft storage and maintenance and places to rela+ while on the ground.

Airports have facilities to meet all of these needs. 0hey have runways, ground concourses, terminals, fuel depots, hangars and a control tower, to name a few.

A typical airport layout, based on the layout of Denver International Airport

6enerally, airport services can be classified as groundside and airside. 7et's ta4e a loo4 at what's involved in each category.

Ground Transportation
An airport can't e+ist in isolation. *t depends on a massive surface-transportation system so that people can get to and from the airport, par4 and get from place to place within the airport structure itself. &hile your first thought about an airport is air travel, ground transportation is pretty crucial to an airport's operation. 0he busiest airport in the world is Atlanta's )artsfield *nternational Airport. )ere are some ways ground transportation is critical to that airport!

Roads allow access to and from the airport! *n Atlanta, four interstate highways move traffic to and from )artsfield. 0here's also a station for trains to connect into the city's rapid transit system.

Parking allows short- and long-term storage of automobiles. 5ar4ing can be on or off airport grounds, and some par4ing systems are run by private vendors under airport regulation. )artsfield has '%,%%% public par4ing spaces. Passenger drop-off and pick-up areas ma4e it easier for passengers to get into the terminals, although they are often plagued by traffic congestion because so many people are trying to get in and out. Rental car companies serve airports. )artsfield has eight rental car companies on airport grounds and another three off airport grounds. Shuttle services provide passengers with transportation to local hotels and off-site par4ing facilities. )artsfield is served by $2 hotel8motel shuttle buses. Private transportation is available in the form of limousines, vans and ta+is. Public transportation .such as municipal buses and subways/ may have stations at an airport. Besides the 9A:0A station at )artsfield, $, bus lines .public and private/ serve the airport. Internal subway trains and trams may be available to help passengers get to the terminal gates from the concourse. )artsfield's 5eople 9over is a '.3-mile .3.;-4m/ loop trac4 that has $' stations serving si+ concourses with nine four-car trains< the trip is two minutes between stations.

=ow that we 4now about ground transportation, let's move on to the core of the airport! concourses and terminals.

ritish Airways !oncorde lounge at "ew #ork$s %ennedy Airport

Concourses and Terminals

At a busy airport li4e Atlanta's )artsfield *nternational, ,,-%% flights ta4e off and land every day. 0hat means that, every day, perhaps as many as '%%,%%% people move through the airport and need certain services. Airports provide those services in their concourses and terminals, the heart of any airport. 0here you'll find the space for airlines to handle tic4et sales, passenger chec4-in, baggage handling and claims.

&hile the terms are often used interchangeably, we'll define concourses as the long halls and large, open areas where you'll find shops, restaurants and lounges, and terminals as long halls lined by the gates where you board and disembar4 airplanes. Atlanta's )artsfield airport has 3.1-million s>uare feet .3,?,3-1 s>uare meters/ of concourses and terminals -- that's $'% acres(

9ost of the time, and in most airports, concourse areas are accessible to the general public .passengers and non-passengers/. 0he gate areas may be restricted by airport security to tic4et-holding passengers only, especially during alerts .for instance, during the 6ulf &ar, non-passengers could not pass security points/. 6enerally, airport security and8or customs lie between the concourse and the gates.

Inside &eppeson 'erminal are numerous shops, lounges, restaurants and courtyards(

At )artsfield's concourses, there are!

13 food and beverage vendors .most of these are owned and staffed by private companies/ 2, retail and convenience stores .also owned and staffed privately/ ,$ staffed service outlets .places where you can get your shoes shined or connect to the *nternet/

0he food that passengers eat while onboard the airplane is usually provided by private companies contracted by one or more airlines at an airport. 0he food is prepared in a building that is off the airport grounds, shipped to the airport by truc4 and loaded onto the plane by the catering company's personnel. @or e+ample, #4yAhefs is one of the catering contractors at Benver *nternational Airport. 0hey prepare and load thousands of meals per day for various airlines. Airline freight and private air-freight services such as @ed C+ and B)7 may have their own terminals at the airport.

ritish Airways )orld !argo !enter in *ondon +eathrow Airport

,ates
0he gates are where the airplanes par4 for passenger boarding and deplaning. 5assengers wait in the immediate area of each gate to board the plane. 6ates are rented by each airline from the airport authority, and some airlines may rent a whole terminal building in their "hub" airport, in which case the rental fee alone can run into the millions of dollars.
Planes parked at the gates of terminals for passenger boarding and deplaning

:outine airplane as washing, de-icing done by airline plane is par4ed at cases, other might be performed

maintenance, such and refueling, is personnel while the the gate. *n some maintenance tas4s at the gate, possibly

with passengers onboard the plane -- it is not uncommon to sit on a plane at the gate while maintenance personnel replace something li4e a hydraulic bra4e line on an aircraft.

5hoto courtesy British Airways

-aintenance crews wash an airplane at the gate(

Airline baggage handlers load and unload baggage at the gates using baggage truc4s and conveyors. 0he funny and interesting problem that most airports face is that airplanes and their gates are very large compared to people. At an airport li4e )artsfield, there are literally miles of gates. 0his can mean a whole lot of wal4ing at any big airport.

Runways

Runways are amazing -- a typical one is about 2 miles long, as wide as a 16-lane highway and about 3 feet thick! Think about this ! fully-loaded """ or "#"-#$$ weighs about %&$,$$$ pounds '3%&,&&# kg() *magine a rough landing where %&$,$$$ pounds slams down hard onto the runway) +unways ha,e to be specially constructed to take that strain without cracking or, worse, buckling) !s they-re designing runways, engineers ha,e to consider the number of wheels an airplane has, how far apart those wheels are and the size of the tires) !s planes get bigger and bigger, runways ha,e to be re-built to accommodate the increased stresses) .hen the /en,er *nternational !irport was built, it took 2)&-million cubic yards of concrete to create fi,e 12,$$$-foot runways, plus ta0iways and aprons) 1irst, 6 feet of compacted soil was put down2 then, a foot-deep layer of soil was spread, topped by an %-inch-thick cement-treated base2 that was followed by 1" inches of concrete pa,ing) 3ain runways are usually oriented to line up with the pre,ailing wind patterns so that airplanes can take-off into the wind and land with it) 4ocal and ground air traffic controllers determine which runways are used for take-off and which for landing, taking into account weather, wind and air-traffic conditions) *n some airports, main runways cross each other, so the controllers ha,e to pay e,en closer attention)

5hoto courtesy 7ufthansa

A ./. &umbo &et lands on a main runway(

5lanes use taxi runways to get from the gate to a main runway for take-off and from a main runway to the gate after landing) Ground controllers direct ground traffic from the airport-s tower) !irline ground personnel assist with the push-back and arri,al of aircraft in the gate areas, dri,ing the tugs that push the aircraft back and directing traffic with those glowing wands)

5hoto courtesy 7ufthansa

A ./. &umbo &et is directed to the gate from the ta0i runway(

6ow let-s take a 7uick look at how airports pro,ide 8et fuel)

Fuel
!irplanes almost always ha,e to refuel between flights, and 8umbo 8ets lo,e fuel) ! "#" can consume up to a gallon '# liters( of fuel per second, and 9filling up the tanks9 takes tens of thousands of gallons of fuel) This huge appetite means that a busy airport can sell millions of gallons of gas e,ery day) !t /en,er *nternational !irport, fuel comes into the fuel-storage depot through a pipeline at rates that ,ary from #6,3$$ to :2,#$$ gallons per hour '1"&,26# to 3#:,""2 liters per hour() The depot can also recei,e fuel from tanker trucks) The fuel is stored in three unloading islands, each with si0, 3,$$$,$$$-gallon '11,3&6,23&-liter( storage tanks, a meter station and dedicated pump that can handle 3$$ gallons '1,136 liters( per minute)

5hotos courtesy Benver *nternational Airport

1iew of Denver International Airport showing the three fuel islands in the background

*n some airports, fuel trucks carry fuel from the storage depot to the airplane for refueling) *n others, fuel is pumped through underground pipes directly to the terminals)

Safety
!irports ha,e their own crews to handle fire and emergency medical ser,ices ';3<() !n airport may ha,e se,eral fire=;3< stations on the ground because the 1ederal !,iation !dministration '1!!( re7uires that emergency crews be able to reach the midpoint of a runway within 3 to & minutes) The crews are usually employees of the city or municipality and are stationed at the airport) !irports also ha,e their own police crews) <ome airport police are members of the city or municipality assigned to the airport, while others are from pri,ate security companies contracted to patrol the airport grounds 'such as the perimeter fences that limit access to the airfield( and to operate the security inspection points within the terminals 'read >ow !irport <ecurity .orks to learn more() 1inally, airports must ha,e crews for collecting and disposing trash, keeping terminals clean 'some 8anitorial ser,ices are run by airlines or airline cooperati,es( and keeping runways clear during foul weather)

5hotos courtesy Benver *nternational Airport

Snow-removal crews keep runways open(

.ithout snow-remo,al crews, aircraft would be grounded whene,er a storm hit)

Airport Mana ement

1light /elays
Dne of the ma or reasons for delays is bad weather. Another ma or cause is a bit less atmospheric! 9any ".#. airports are operating above capacity, which causes air-traffic delays. Dne good solution is to build more runways, e+cept that it ta4es appro+imately $% to $3 years to build new runways because of the laws and regulations that govern their construction. A ma or focus for reducing delays is on increasing the efficiency of our air traffic control system.

*f you ha,e been keeping track of some of the statistics in the pre,ious sections, you can see that airports are huge businesses) 1or e0ample, you saw that a big airport can ha,e o,er a hundred acres of floor space in the terminals, millions of cubic yards of concrete in the runways and hundreds of people staffing the facilities) *f you look at a page like this one, you can see 8ust how big the business is) /en,er-s airport cost about ?&-billion to build, and operating costs are ?16$-million per year)

@ommercial airports are publicly owned and generally financed through municipal bonds) !irports typically own all of their facilities and make money by leasing them to airlines, airfreight companies and retail shops and ser,ices, as well as by charging for ser,ices like fuel and parking and through fees and ta0es on airline tickets) The re,enues pay off the municipal debt and co,er the operating costs) !irports often re7uire other sources of funding as well, such as airport bonds and go,ernment grants) Aut most airports are self-sustaining businesses once they become operational) !bout :$ percent of employees at airports work for pri,ate companies, such as airlines, contractors and concessions) 3ost of the remaining 1$ percent work directly for the airport as administrators, terminal- and grounds-maintenance personnel and safety crews) !ir traffic controllers are employees of the federal go,ernment) !irports ha,e their own departments of finance, personnel, administration and public relations, much like any city or municipality) !irports with regularly scheduled flights are regulated by the 1ederal !,iation !dministration '1!!( and must also follow local and state go,ernment regulations) 1or more information on airports, see !irline >andbook !irports and check out the links on the ne0t page)