DESIGN 7

PLATE NO. 2

“AIRPORT”

SUBMITTED BY:
CHARINE ANN TIPDAS

SUBMITTED TO:
ARCH. MA. JULINEE C. BRITANICO
AIRPORT - a place from which aircraft operate that usually has paved runways
and maintenance facilities and often serves as a terminal.

An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial

air transport. Airports often have facilities to store and maintain aircraft, and
a control tower. An airport consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially
accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such
as a runway for a plane to take off or a helipad, and often includes adjacent
utility buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminals.

Larger airports may have fixed-base operator services, airport

aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centers, passenger facilities such as
restaurants and lounges, and emergency services.

An airport with a helipad for rotorcraft but no runway is called a heliport.

An airport for use by seaplanes and amphibious aircraft is called a seaplane base.
Such a base typically includes a stretch of open water for takeoffs and landings,
and seaplane docks for tying-up.

An international airport has additional facilities for customs and passport

control as well as incorporating all of the aforementioned elements above. Such
airports rank among the most complex and largest of all built typologies with 15
of the top 50 buildings by floor area being airport terminals.
  The World’s First Airport

The earliest aircraft takeoff and landing sites were grassy fields. The plane could
approach at any angle that provided a favorable wind direction. A slight
improvement was the dirt-only field, which eliminated the drag from grass.
However, these only functioned well in dry conditions. Later, concrete surfaces
would allow landings, rain or shine, day or night.

 Ownership

Although all commercial airports in the United States are publicly owned, the
private sector plays a significant role in their operations and financing. Employees
of private companies - airlines, concessionaires and contractors - account for 90
percent of all employees at the nation's airports. The largest source of capital for
airport development is tax-exempt bonds, secured by future airport revenue and
subject to the scrutiny of credit-rating agencies. In other countries, most airports
are owned and operated by national governments.

 Privatization

The possible sale or lease of commercial airports to private companies has

generated considerable attention in recent years. Several factors, such as
providing additional private capital for development, have motivated greater
interest in airport privatization. Concerns over the possible abuse of the monopoly
power of an airport, along with long-established legal and regulatory protections
for existing airport investments and their revenue streams, however, have held
back wholesale airport privatization in the United States.

Even if a sale or lease transfer could overcome legal obstacles, the ability of a
private airport to operate profitably is uncertain. A privately owned airport would
not be eligible for tax-exempt debt financing, federal airport grants or passenger
facility charges (PFCs). Since these sources constitute the majority of capital
funding at most airports, financing costs would rise significantly.

As part of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, Congress established

an airport privatization pilot program that exempted up to five airports from legal
requirements that limit their sale or lease to private entities. As of December 1999,
only one commercial service passenger airport (Stewart/Newburgh, New York)
had submitted a final application to participate in the pilot program.

While national governments of many foreign countries have historically owned

and operated airports, in recent years some countries have begun to privatize all
or parts of their nation's aviation system. The United Kingdom, which sold its major
commercial airports in 1987, is one of the few countries where airports have
generated profits for their shareholders.
  Organization

Because airports resemble small cities, they are organized like a small city, with
departments for purchasing, engineering, finance, legal, operations, personnel,
administration, security, public relations, etc. They also have fire and police
departments and must handle such typical municipal duties as trash removal.

Many of an airport's departments deal with one, or both, of the two sides of an
airport - groundside and airside. Groundside includes an airport's roads, parking
lots, passenger drop-off and pick-up points, check-in areas, baggage-claim
areas, restaurants and shops. Airside includes aircraft gates, loading ramps,
taxiways and runways. Groundside is geared toward the movement of ground
traffic into and out of the airport, and airside to the movement of air traffic into
and out of the airport.

 Financing

Airports, contrary to popular misconception, are not funded by government

general fund tax dollars - federal, state or local. Rather, airports are funded either
directly or indirectly out of aviation revenue generated by airlines, their
passengers, or airport vendors in the form of direct payments or through
earmarked taxes collected from aviation system users.

Airports rely on a variety of public and private funding sources to finance their
capital development, including airport bonds, federal and state grants,
passenger facility charges (PFCs), and airport-generated income.

 Airport Improvement Program (AIP)

Airport grant programs are funded from taxes and fees specifically collected for
that purpose. As of January 2000, these included a 7.5 percent domestic ticket
tax and a $2.50 per-person per-flight-segment fee for all flights, except to certain
rural airports. A $12.00 international arrival tax and a $12.00 international
departure tax (both adjusted for the annual rate of inflation, beginning January
1, 1999), a 6.25 percent tax on domestic air freight, a 4.3 cents-per-gallon
domestic air fuel tax, and taxes on the fuel used in small planes and for non-
commercial purposes also fund the grant programs. These revenues are credited
to the Aviation Trust Fund, created by Congress in 1970 to fund improvements to
airports and the nation's air traffic control system. The FAA dispenses grants to
airports out of the trust fund for projects under the Airport Improvement Program,
which had total outlays of $1.6 billion in FY99.
  Passenger Facility Charge (PFC)

Since 1992, many airports have also been charging airline passengers a $3.00 fee,
known as a passenger facility charge, which the airlines collect as an add-on to
the airfare. Beginning in 2000, Congress authorized an increase in the maximum
PFC rate that airports can charge passengers - $4.50 per segment, with a cap of
$18.00 for a roundtrip. These taxes must be pledged to specific capital
improvements that will: (1) preserve or enhance safety, capacity or security of the
national air transportation system; (2) reduce noise; or (3) enhance competition
between or among air carriers. Every PFC is tied to specific capital improvement
projects that have been approved by the FAA, and the fee expires when all of
the money needed for the approved projects has been raised (unless new
projects have been approved under a separate application).

More than 300 airports had received federal government approval to levy this
tax. Currently, more than $1.5 billion in PFCs are collected each year, and the FAA
has already authorized the collection of more than $25 billion. However, even
though one of the main objectives of the PFC program is to increase airport safety
and capacity, only 19 percent of collected funds have been used for airfield
safety and capacity improvements. In fact, more PFC funds are now being spent
on interest for capital projects (29 percent) than are being spent on airfield safety
and capacity. Passenger facility charges, when used wisely, have been a useful
tool in meeting aviation infrastructure needs.

 Revenue Bonds

More than 95 percent of all airport debt, or about $53.6 billion, issued since 1982
has been in the form of general airport revenue bonds (GARBs), which are
secured by an airport's future revenue. Roughly $17.3 billion, or one-third of this
total, was to refinance existing debt, while the other $36.3 billion, or two-thirds,
was new financing for airport capital development. Because airport revenue has
kept pace with increased debt-service costs, the capacity to issue new debt has
not been harmed.

The top 71 airports, which account for almost 90 percent of all passenger traffic,
obtain 79 percent of all capital funding, while the 3,233 other national system
airports account for the remaining 21 percent of the funding. These airports also
rely most heavily on private airport bonds, which constitute roughly 65 percent of
their total funding, while the other airports rely more heavily on federal and state
grants for their funding.

Capital improvements such as the construction of a new terminal or parking

garage are sometimes funded privately (for example, by an airline if the new
facility is for its own exclusive use), but more often through the sale of revenue
bonds by the airport operator. Revenue bonds are repaid, with interest, from the
future revenue the new facility generates. For example, revenue bonds sold for a
new terminal would be repaid with the rent the airport collects from the airlines
using the terminal.
Usually, the airport owns all the facilities built on its property, regardless of how
their construction was financed. Facilities built for exclusive use of a tenant,
however, are sometimes leased to that tenant for a long period of time.

Years ago, general obligation bonds, which are backed by the taxing power of
a governmental unit, were far more common because of their stronger credit
standing and, therefore, lower financing costs. The decline in general obligation
bonds reflects the improved acceptance of GARBs by investors. Today, general
aviation airports have been the most common issuers of general obligation bonds
for airport development.

 Airport Costs

With the exception of a few small airports that receive subsidies from their
municipality, U.S. airports are self-sustaining. The revenue collected from
businesses, passengers and shippers using the airport covers most of the operating
expenses associated with operating the airport.

Typically, companies doing business at an airport (airlines, car rental companies,

restaurants, stores, etc.) pay rents for the space they occupy. Many businesses
also pay a gross-receipts fee based on the total value of their business at the
airport. Airlines do not pay gross-receipts fees, but pay flight fees, based on the
weight of each aircraft that lands or departs. In some instances, they also pay
aircraft parking and fueling fees, or make direct payments on long-term airport
debt.

 Rate-Making Concepts

There are two common methods for computing air-carrier fees: residual and
compensatory. In a residual agreement, the signatory airlines accept the
financial risk and guarantee the airport sufficient revenues to meet its operating
costs and debt-service costs. Under the residual method, after an airport deducts
all non-airline revenue from its total annual expenses, the airlines are responsible
for the remaining (residual) amount, and rates are set accordingly.

Compensatory agreements are generally found at mature airports that have

realized successful revenue generation. The airport undertakes the risk of meeting
costs, but also receives all the upside advantage. Under the compensatory
method, an airport is divided into various cost centers (airfield, terminals, parking
areas, etc.), and airlines pay a share of those costs, based on the amount of
space they occupy, planes they land/depart and other measures of airline use.

While the fees airlines pay to airports represent a small portion of overall airline
operating costs (approximately 5 percent), they have been one of the industry's
fastest-rising costs. Between 1992 and 1999, airport costs exclusive of PFCs, rose 35
percent. Including PFCs, they rose 70 percent. In contrast, the producer price
index over that same period of time increased less than eight percent and airline
prices rose less than four percent.
  Revenue Diversion

Of increasing concern to airlines (and many airport operators) has been local
political interest in siphoning money away from airports for other non-aviation
purposes. This activity, known as revenue diversion, is prohibited by federal law,
but is allowed, in a few instances, under special arrangements that were
"grandfathered" in the federal statutes addressing this issue.

 Regulation of Airports

As mentioned in Chapter 6, airports that receive scheduled air service by carriers

must be certified by the FAA as operating within strict federal safety guidelines for
design and operation. This certificate is known as a Part 139 certificate after the
section of the federal air regulations (FARs) dealing with airport safety. Part 139
certificates are the equivalent of the Part 121 certificates for airline operations.
Airports also may have to comply with state and local regulations, although these
usually deal with environmental or administrative matters rather than strictly with
safety.

 Airport Capacity
Airports have two capacities - one for groundside and one for airside. Groundside
capacity is the number of passengers per year the airport's roads, parking lots and
terminals can handle. Airside capacity, on the other hand, is the number of
aircraft operations the airport's runways, taxiways and gates can accommodate
safely.

The FAA calculates an airport's airside capacity using an engineering formula that
takes into account the various ways an airport's runways are used, or not used, in
different wind and weather conditions. Known as an Engineered Performance
Standard (EPS), it is expressed in aircraft operations per hour.

Decisions that FAA's air traffic control division makes about the flight paths carriers
will follow in and out of an airport also affect airside capacity. Airport capacity,
or lack of it, is one of the most significant issues facing civil aviation. A great deal
of attention has been focused in recent years on getting more capacity out of
airports that already exist. This can be done by adding runways, taxiways, and
landing aids, or perhaps, by changing departure and approach patterns.

These and other capacity enhancements, however, often face stiff opposition
from residents of surrounding communities, who often want to see airport
operations scaled back to reduce noise and pollution. Building entirely new
airports in less densely populated areas, on the other hand, is a more expensive
option to expanding existing facilities, and often less convenient for most travelers.
  TERMINOLOGY

The terms aerodrome, airfield, and airstrip may also be used to refer to airports,
and the terms heliport, seaplane base, and STOLport refer to airports dedicated
exclusively to helicopters, seaplanes, or short take-off and landing aircraft.

In colloquial use, the terms airport and aerodrome are often interchanged.
However, in general, the term airport may imply or confer a certain stature upon
the aviation facility that an aerodrome may not have achieved. In some
jurisdictions, airport is a legal term of art reserved exclusively for
those aerodromes certified or licensed as airports by the relevant national
aviation authority after meeting specified certification criteria or regulatory
requirements.

That is to say, all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports. In
jurisdictions where there is no legal distinction between aerodrome and airport,
which term to use in the name of an aerodrome may be a commercial decision.
In United States technical/legal usage, landing area is used instead
of aerodrome, and airport means "a landing area used regularly by aircraft for
receiving or discharging passengers or cargo" ,

 FACILITIES

A terminal is a building with passenger facilities. Small airports have one terminal.
Large ones often have multiple terminals, though some large airports
like Amsterdam Airport Schiphol still have one terminal. The terminal has a series
of gates, which provide passengers with access to the plane.
The following facilities are essential for departing passengers:

 Check-in facilities, including a baggage drop-off

 Security clearance gates
 Passport control (for some international flights)
 Gates
 Waiting areas
The following facilities are essential for arriving passengers:

 Passport control (international arrivals only)

 Baggage reclaim facilities, often in the form of a carousel
 Customs (international arrivals only)
 A groundside meeting place

For both sets of passengers, there must be a link between the passenger facilities
and the aircraft, such as jet bridges or air stairs. There also needs to be a baggage
handling system, to transport baggage from the baggage drop-off to departing
planes, and from arriving planes to the baggage reclaim.

The area where the aircraft park to load passengers and baggage is known as
an apron or ramp (or incorrectly, "the tarmac").

Airports with international flights have customs and immigration facilities.

However, as some countries have agreements that allow travel between them
without customs and immigrations, such facilities are not a definitive need for an
international airport. International flights often require a higher level of physical
security, although in recent years, many countries have adopted the same level
of security for international and domestic travel.

"Floating airports" are being designed which could be located out at sea and
which would use designs such as pneumatic stabilized platform technology.

 MANAGEMENT

Smaller or less-developed airports, which represent the vast majority, often have
a single runway shorter than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Larger airports for airline flights
generally have paved runways 2,000 m (6,600 ft) or longer. Many small airports
have dirt, grass, or gravel runways, rather than asphalt or concrete. Skyline Airport
in Inkom, Idaho has a runway that is only 122 m (400 ft) long.

In the United States, the minimum dimensions for dry, hard landing fields are
defined by the FAR Landing And Takeoff Field Lengths. These include
considerations for safety margins during landing and takeoff. Heavier aircraft
require longer runways.

The longest public-use runway in the world is at Qamdo Bamda Airport in China.
It has a length of 5,500 m (18,045 ft). The world's widest paved runway is
at Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport in Russia and is 105 m (344 ft) wide.

As of 2009, the CIA stated that there were approximately 44,000 "... airports or
airfields recognizable from the air" around the world, including 15,095 in the US,
the US having the most in the world.

 AIRPORT SECURITY

Airport security normally requires baggage checks, metal screenings of individual

persons, and rules against any object that could be used as a weapon. Since
the September 11 attacks and the Real ID Act of 2005, airport security has
dramatically increased and got tighter and stricter than ever before.

 PREMIUM AND VIP SERVICES

Airports may also contain premium and VIP services. The premium and VIP
services may include express check-in and dedicated check-in counters. These
services are usually reserved for First and Business class passengers,
premium frequent flyers, and members of the airline's clubs. Premium services
may sometimes be open to passengers who are members of a different airline's
frequent flyer program. This can sometimes be part of a reciprocal deal, as when
multiple airlines are part of the same alliance, or as a ploy to attract premium
customers away from rival airlines.

Sometimes these premium services will be offered to a non-premium passenger if

the airline has made a mistake in handling of the passenger, such as
unreasonable delays or mishandling of checked baggage.
Airline lounges frequently offer free or reduced cost food, as well as alcoholic and
non-alcoholic beverages. Lounges themselves typically have seating, showers,
quiet areas, televisions, computer, Wi-Fi and Internet access, and power outlets
that passengers may use for their electronic equipment. Some airline lounges
employ baristas, bartenders and gourmet chefs.

Airlines sometimes operate multiple lounges within the one airport terminal
allowing ultra-premium customers, such as first class customers, additional
services, which are not available to other premium customers. Multiple lounges
may also prevent overcrowding of the lounge facilities.

 CARGO AND FREIGHT SERVICES

In addition to people, airports move cargo around the clock. Cargo airlines often
have their own on-site and adjacent infrastructure to transfer parcels between
ground and air.

Cargo Terminal Facilities are areas where international airports export cargo has
to be stored after customs clearance and prior to loading on the aircraft. Similarly
import cargo that is offloaded needs to be in bond before the consignee decides
to take delivery. Areas have to be kept aside for examination of export and import
cargo by the airport authorities. Designated areas or sheds may be given to
airlines or freight forward ring agencies.

Every cargo terminal has a landside and an airside. The landside is where the
exporters and importers through either their agents or by themselves deliver or
collect shipments while the airside is where loads are moved to or from the
aircraft. In addition cargo terminals are divided into distinct areas – export, import
and interline or transshipment.

 ACCESS AND ONWARD TRAVEL

Airports require parking lots, for passengers who may leave the cars at the airport
for a long period of time. Large airports will also have car rental firms, taxi
ranks, bus stops and sometimes a train station.

Many large airports are located near railway trunk routes for seamless connection
of multimodal transport, for instance Frankfurt Airport, Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol, London Heathrow Airport, Tokyo Haneda Airport, Tokyo Narita
Airport, London Gatwick Airport and London Stansted Airport. It is also common
to connect an airport and a city with rapid transit, light rail lines or other non-road
public transport systems. Some examples of this would include the AirTrain
JFK at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Link Light Rail that runs
from the heart of downtown Seattle to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, and
the Silver Line T at Boston's Logan International Airportby the Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority (MBTA). Such a connection lowers risk of missed flights
due to traffic congestion. Large airports usually have access also
through controlled-access highways ('freeways' or 'motorways') from which motor
vehicles enter either the departure loop or the arrival loop.
  INTERNAL TRANSPORT

The distances passengers need to move within a large airport can be substantial.
It is common for airports to provide moving walkways, buses, and rail transport
systems. Some airports like Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International
Airport and London Stansted Airport have a transit system that connects some of
the gates to a main terminal. Airports with more than one terminal have a transit
system to connect the terminals together, such as John F. Kennedy International
Airport, Mexico City International Airport and London Gatwick Airport.

 AIRPORT OPERATIONS
There are three types of surface that aircraft operate on:

 Runways, for takeoff and landing

 Taxiways, where planes "taxi" (transfer to and from a runway)
 Apron or ramp: a large concrete surface where planes are parked, loaded,
unloaded or refueled

 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

Air traffic control (ATC) is the task of managing aircraft movements and making
sure they are safe, orderly and free of delays. At the largest airports, air traffic
control is a series of highly complex operations that requires managing frequent
traffic that moves in all three dimensions.

A "towered" or "controlled" airport has a control tower where the air traffic
controllers are based. Pilots are required to maintain two-way radio
communication with the controllers, and to acknowledge and comply with their
instructions. A "non-towered" airport has no operating control tower and therefore
two-way radio communications are not required, though it is good operating
practice for pilots to transmit their intentions on the airport's common traffic
advisory frequency (CTAF) for the benefit of other aircraft in the area. The CTAF
may be a Universal Integrated Community (UNICOM), MULTICOM, Flight Service
Station (FSS), or tower frequency.

The majority of the world's airports are small facilities without a tower. Not all
towered airports have 24/7 ATC operations. In those cases, non-towered
procedures apply when the tower is not in use, such as at night. Non-towered
airports come under area (en-route) control. Remote and virtual tower (RVT) is a
system in which ATC is handled by controllers who are not present at the airport
itself.

Air traffic control responsibilities at airports are usually divided into at least two
main areas: ground and tower, though a single controller may work both stations.
The busiest airports may subdivide responsibilities further, with clearance
delivery, apron control, and/or other specialized ATC stations.
  GROUND TOWER

Ground control is responsible for directing all ground traffic in designated

"movement areas", except the traffic on runways. This includes planes, baggage
trains, snowplows, grass cutters, fuel trucks, stair trucks, airline food trucks,
conveyor belt vehicles and other vehicles. Ground Control will instruct these
vehicles on which taxiways to use, which runway they will use (in the case of
planes), where they will park, and when it is safe to cross runways. When a plane
is ready to takeoff it will stop short of the runway, at which point it will be turned
over to Tower Control. After a plane has landed, it will depart the runway and be
returned to Ground Control.

 TOWER CONTROL

Tower control is responsible for aircraft on the runway and in the controlled
airspace immediately surrounding the airport. Tower controllers may use radar to
locate an aircraft's position in three-dimensional space, or they may rely on pilot
position reports and visual observation. They coordinate the sequencing of
aircraft in the traffic pattern and direct aircraft on how to safely join and leave
the circuit. Aircraft which are only passing through the airspace must also contact
Tower Control in order to be sure that they remain clear of other traffic.

 TRAFFIC PATTERN

At all airports the use of a traffic pattern (often called a traffic circuit outside the
U.S.) is possible. They may help to assure smooth traffic flow between departing
and arriving aircraft. There is no technical need within modern aviation for
performing this pattern, provided there is no queue. And due to the so-called
SLOT-times, the overall traffic planning tend to assure landing queues are
avoided. If for instance an aircraft approaches runway 17 (which has a heading
of approx. 170 degrees) from the north (coming from 360/0 degrees heading
towards 180 degrees), the aircraft will land as fast as possible by just turning 10
degrees and follow the glidepath, without orbit the runway for visual reasons,
whenever this is possible. For smaller piston engined airplanes at smaller airfields
without ILSequipment, things are very different though.
Generally, this pattern is a circuit consisting of five "legs" that form a rectangle
(two legs and the runway form one side, with the remaining legs forming three
more sides). Each leg is named (see diagram), and ATC directs pilots on how to
join and leave the circuit. Traffic patterns are flown at one specific altitude, usually
800 or 1,000 ft (244 or 305 m) above ground level (AGL). Standard traffic patterns
are left-handed, meaning all turns are made to the left. One of the main reason
for this is that pilots sit on the left side of the airplane, and a Left-hand patterns
improves their visibility of the airport and pattern. Right-handed patterns do exist,
usually because of obstacles such as a mountain, or to reduce noise for local
residents. The predetermined circuit helps traffic flow smoothly because all pilots
know what to expect, and helps reduce the chance of a mid-air collision.

At extremely large airports, a circuit is in place but not usually used. Rather, aircraft
(usually only commercial with long routes) request approach clearance while
they are still hours away from the airport, often before they even take off from
their departure point. Large airports have a frequency called Clearance
Delivery which is used by departing aircraft specifically for this purpose. This then
allows aircraft to take the most direct approach path to the runway and land
without worrying about interference from other aircraft. While this system keeps
the airspace free and is simpler for pilots, it requires detailed knowledge of how
aircraft are planning to use the airport ahead of time and is therefore only possible
with large commercial airliners on pre-scheduled flights. The system has recently
become so advanced that controllers can predict whether an aircraft will be
delayed on landing before it even takes off; that aircraft can then be delayed
on the ground, rather than wasting expensive fuel waiting in the air.

 NAVIGATIONAL AIDS

There are a number of aids available to pilots, though not all airports are
equipped with them. A visual approach slope indicator (VASI) helps pilots fly the
approach for landing. Some airports are equipped with a VHF omnidirectional
range (VOR) to help pilots find the direction to the airport. VORs are often
accompanied by a distance measuring equipment (DME) to determine the
distance to the VOR. VORs are also located off airports, where they serve to
provide airways for aircraft to navigate upon. In poor weather, pilots will use an
instrument landing system (ILS) to find the runway and fly the correct approach,
even if they cannot see the ground. The number of instrument approaches based
on the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) is rapidly increasing and may
eventually be the primary means for instrument landings.

Larger airports sometimes offer precision approach radar (PAR), but these systems
are more common at military air bases than civilian airports. The aircraft's
horizontal and vertical movement is tracked via radar, and the controller tells the
pilot his position relative to the approach slope. Once the pilots can see the
runway lights, they may continue with a visual landing.
  TAXIWAY SIGNS

Airport guidance signs provide direction and information to taxiing aircraft and
airport vehicles. Smaller aerodromes may have few or no signs, relying instead on
diagrams and charts.

 LIGHTING

Many airports have lighting that help guide planes using the runways and
taxiways at night or in rain or fog.

On runways, green lights indicate the beginning of the runway for landing, while
red lights indicate the end of the runway. Runway edge lighting consists of white
lights spaced out on both sides of the runway, indicating the edge. Some airports
have more complicated lighting on the runways including lights that run down
the centerline of the runway and lights that help indicate the approach
(an approach lighting system, or ALS). Low-traffic airports may use pilot controlled
lighting to save electricity and staffing costs.

Along taxiways, blue lights indicate the taxiway's edge, and some airports have
embedded green lights that indicate the centerline.

 WEATHER OBSERVATIONS

Weather observations at the airport are crucial to safe takeoffs and landings. In
the US and Canada, the vast majority of airports, large and small, will either have
some form of automated airport weather station, whether an AWOS, ASOS, or
AWSS, a human observer or a combination of the two. These weather
observations, predominantly in the METAR format, are available over the radio,
through automatic terminal information service (ATIS), via the ATC or the flight
service station.

Planes take-off and land into the wind in order to achieve maximum
performance. Because pilots need instantaneous information during landing,
a windsock is also kept in view of the runway. Aviation windsocks are made with
lightweight material, withstand strong winds and are lit up after dark or in foggy
weather. Because visibility of windsocks is limited, often multiple glow-orange
windsocks are placed on both sides of the runway.

 AIRPORT GROUND CREW (GROUND HANDLING)

Most airports have groundcrew handling the loading and unloading of

passengers, crew, baggage and other services. Some groundcrew are linked to
specific airlines operating at the airport.
Among the vehicles that serve an aircraft on the ground are:

 A tow tractor to move the aircraft in and out of the berth.

 A jet bridge (in some airports) or stairs unit to allow passengers to embark
and disembark.
  A ground power unit for supplying electricity. As the engines will be
switched off, they will not be generating electricity as they do in flight.
 A cleaning service.
 A catering service to deliver food and drinks for a flight.
 A toilet waste truck to empty the tank which holds the waste from the toilets
in the aircraft.
 A water truck to fill the water tanks of the aircraft.
 A refueling vehicle. The fuel may come from a tanker, or from underground
fuel tanks.
 A conveyor belt unit for loading and unloading luggage.
 A vehicle to transport luggage to and from the terminal.

The length of time an aircraft remains on the ground in between consecutive

flights is known as "turnaround time". Airlines pay great attention to minimizing
turnaround times in an effort to keep aircraft utilization (flying time) high, with times
scheduled as low as 25 minutes for jet aircraft operated by low-cost carriers on
narrow-body aircraft.

 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Aircraft noise is a major cause of noise disturbance to residents living near airports.
Sleep can be affected if the airports operate night and early morning flights.
Aircraft noise not only occurs from take-off and landings, but also ground
operations including maintenance and testing of aircraft. Noise can have
other noise health effects. Other noise and environmental concerns are vehicle
traffic causing noise and pollution on roads leading the airport.

The construction of new airports or addition of runways to existing airports, is often

resisted by local residents because of the effect on countryside, historical sites,
local flora and fauna. Due to the risk of collision between birds and aircraft, large
airports undertake population control programs where they frighten or shoot
birds.

The construction of airports has been known to change local weather patterns.
For example, because they often flatten out large areas, they can be susceptible
to fog in areas where fog rarely forms. In addition, they generally
replace trees and grass with pavement, they often change drainage patterns
in agricultural areas, leading to more flooding, run-off and erosion in the
surrounding land.

Some of the airport administrations prepare and publish

annual environmental reports in order to show how they consider these
environmental concerns in airport management issues and how they protect
environment from airport operations. These reports contain all environmental
protection measures performed by airport administration in terms of water, air, soil
and noise pollution, resource conservation and protection of natural life around
the airport.

A growing number of airports are installing solar photovoltaic arrays to offset their
electricity use. The National Renewable Energy Lab has shown this can be done
safely.
The world's first airport to be fully powered by solar energy is located at Kochi,
India. Another airport known for considering environmental parameters is
the Seymour Airport at Galapagos Islands.

 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

The earliest aircraft takeoff and landing sites were grassy fields. The plane could
approach at any angle that provided a favorable wind direction. A slight
improvement was the dirt-only field, which eliminated the drag from grass.
However, these only functioned well in dry conditions. Later, concrete surfaces
would allow landings regardless of meteorological conditions.

The title of "world's oldest airport" is disputed, but College Park Airport in Maryland,
US, established in 1909 by Wilbur Wright, is generally agreed to be the world's
oldest continually operating airfield, although it serves only general
aviation traffic. Bisbee-Douglas International Airport in Arizona was declared "the
first international airport of the Americas" by US president Franklin D. Roosevelt in
1943. Pearson Field Airport in Vancouver, Washington, had a dirigible land in 1905
and planes in 1911 and is still in use.

Hamburg Airport opened in January 1911, making it the oldest commercial airport
in the world which is still in operation. Bremen Airportopened in 1913 and remains
in use, although it served as an American military field between 1945 and
1949. Amsterdam Airport Schipholopened on September 16, 1916, as a military
airfield, but only accepted civil aircraft from December 17, 1920, allowing Sydney
Airport in Sydney, Australia—which started operations in January 1920—to claim
to be one of the world's oldest continually operating commercial
airports.[22] Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis-Saint
Paul, Minnesota, opened in 1920 and has been in continuous commercial service
since. It serves about 35,000,000 passengers each year and continues to expand,
recently opening a new 11,000 foot (3,355 meter) runway. Of the airports
constructed during this early period in aviation, it is one of the largest and busiest
that is still currently operating. Rome Ciampino Airport, opened 1916, is also a
contender, as well as the Don Mueang International Airport near Bangkok,
Thailand, which opened in 1914. Increased aircraft traffic during World War I led
to the construction of landing fields. Aircraft had to approach these from certain
directions and this led to the development of aids for directing the approach and
landing slope.

Following the war, some of these military airfields added civil facilities for handling
passenger traffic. One of the earliest such fields was Paris – Le Bourget Airport at Le
Bourget, near Paris. The first airport to operate scheduled international
commercial services was Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in August 1919, but it was
closed and supplanted by Croydon Airport in March 1920. In 1922, the first
permanent airport and commercial terminal solely for commercial aviation was
opened at Flughafen Devau near what was then Königsberg, East Prussia. The
airports of this era used a paved "apron", which permitted night flying as well as
landing heavier aircraft.
The first lighting used on an airport was during the latter part of the 1920s; in the
1930s approach lighting came into use. These indicated the proper direction and
angle of descent. The colours and flash intervals of these lights became
standardized under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In the
1940s, the slope-line approach system was introduced. This consisted of two rows
of lights that formed a funnel indicating an aircraft's position on the glideslope.
Additional lights indicated incorrect altitude and direction

After World War II, airport design became more sophisticated. Passenger buildings
were being grouped together in an island, with runways arranged in groups about
the terminal. This arrangement permitted expansion of the facilities. But it also
meant that passengers had to travel further to reach their plane.

An improvement in the landing field was the introduction of grooves in the

concrete surface. These run perpendicular to the direction of the landing aircraft
and serve to draw off excess water in rainy conditions that could build up in front
of the plane's wheels.

Airport construction boomed during the 1960s with the increase in jet
aircraft traffic. Runways were extended out to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The fields were
constructed out of reinforced concrete using a slip-form machine that produces
a continual slab with no disruptions along the length. The early 1960s also saw the
introduction of jet bridge systems to modern airport terminals, an innovation which
eliminated outdoor passenger boarding. These systems became commonplace
in the United States by the 1970s.