Unit 1
Unit 1
AT AIRPORT
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Significance of Airport
1.3 Physical Structure of an Airport
1.4 Operations in an airport
1.4.1 Ground Handling
1.4.2 Passenger Handling
1.5 Safety and Security
1.5.1 Safety Issues
1.5.2 Security concerns
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Further Readings
1.8 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
1.9 Activity
1.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you would be able to:
define airport and discuss its significance;
describe the different types of airports;
explain the structure of an airport;
discuss the operations taking place in an airport;
describe the passenger handling activities within an airport;
identify the safety and security measures initiated in airports; and
discuss the socio-economic as well as tourism significance of airports.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Airports are central to the travel and tourism industry. More than 4000 commercial
airports are there globally to handle billions of passengers annually. According to
International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), the total number of passengers carried
on scheduled services was 4.5 billion in 2019.
Oxford dictionary defines Airport as a place where planes land and take off and that
has buildings for passengers to wait in. Webster dictionary defines airport as a place
from which aircraft operates that usually has paved runways and maintenance facilities,
and often serves as a terminal. While considering the facilities and services provided in
an airport, it can be defined as “a complex set of facilities, services and infrastructure 7
Airport Handling that enable air transport service providers to transport passengers and cargo from one
place to another” (Dileep, 2019). Basically, an airport provides all facilities and amenities
for the airlines to operate their services. Both passenger as well as cargo transportation
can be undertaken through an airport.
Other terms commonly used to refer to the place from which airlines operate are
aerodrome and airfields. According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),
aerodrome, is “a defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations
and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure,
and surface movement of aircraft”. An aerodrome or airdrome is a place on land or
water from where the flight operations involving air cargo, passenger or neither occur.
On the other hand, airfield is a place where airplanes can take off and land but unlike
an airport must not necessarily have terminals or paved runways. Finally, the term
airport suggest that the status was granted only after having satisfied certain certification
criteria and/ or regulatory requirements. These certifications and regulatory requirements
are not met by all the aerodromes. This means that all airports are aerodromes, but not
all aerodromes are airports. Aerodromes also include small or big airfields, commercial/
civil airports, and military air bases.
Now a days, more and more airports are being built across the world due to the
increasing significance of air transportation. Airport is an inevitable element of national
transport system and it provides the basic infrastructure for undertaking air transport
activities. In this unit we will go into the details of the concept, types, functions and
operations of airport in detail.
Source: Kovynyov, Ivan & Mikut, Ralf. (2018). Digital Transformation in Airport Ground
10 Operations (researchgate.net)
2. Land Side (Ground side): Introduction to
Operations at Airport
Landside areas of an airport cover the arrival and departure of the passengers in the
airport terminal building, and the movements through the terminal building to board the
airplanes. Landside areas include parking lots, fuel tank and access roads. This is the
side of the airport where the land transportation takes place, that ensures connectivity
of the airport with nearby city and the rest of the places in the region. Road/rail access
system, parking area, security mechanism, etc. area also seen in the landside of the
airport. Commercial services like taxi services, bus/rails services, refreshment centers,
etc. are also there in this area.
Physical structure of an airport is designed to get maximum use of the area. Every part
of the airport has a specific purpose and function. Airport area can also be identified
based on the degree of passenger access as given below:
1. Tarmac
Tarmac is also known as APRON or RAMP (Region for Aircraft Maintenance
and Parking) - This is the area where the aircrafts are parked and handled. The
following must be on the Tarmac side
runways for takeoff and landing
taxiway
parking areas for aircrafts
facilities for maintenance
facilities for safety & security
loading and unloading facilities for cargo
fueling facility
2. Terminal
Whenever we think of an airport, airport terminal is what comes to our mind first.
It is the most visible part of an airport, when we look at an airport from outside as
a traveler. It is the building used for making the transition between surface and air
transportation.
A terminal building is an area at an airport where the formalities for the departing
and arriving passengers take place. Therefore, a terminal is usually divided into
two parts, such as departure area and arrival area. In most of the airports, domestic
and international services have separate terminals. Airports will also have a separate
cargo terminal with a booking area and delivery area. These days, larger airports
have more than one terminal.
Departing passengers pass through luggage screening mechanism, check-in
counters, security check (body and hand baggage check), and emigration clearance
area (for international passengers only). The waiting area and gate area for boarding
airplane are within the departure area of the terminal. Commercial establishments
like restaurants, coffee shops, Insurance counters, post offices, foreign exchange
counters, handicraft shops, duty-free shops, conference areas, lounges, conference
areas, lounges, ATMs and other facilities for passengers are also there within this
area. 11
Airport Handling
Check Your Progress–1
Table 1.1
Source: Security Regulations, Air India.
www.airindia.in
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Airport Handling
Check Your Progress –2
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2. What are the measures taken in ensuring the security in air transportation?
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3. Distinguish between Green Channel and Red Channel in association with customs
formalities in airports
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Airports’ physical structure can be identified into sections like airside and landside as
well as tarmac and terminal. Airport offers services to the passengers keeping in mind
the safety and security of the passengers as well as the airport. Airports are can be
classified by different basis such as location, licensing, type of development, ownership
and so on. So, we have civil, military, regional, domestic, international and so on.
Classification of Airports is given in the annexure.
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Introduction to
1.7 FURTHER READINGS Operations at Airport
1.9 ACTIVITY
Identify an international airport near to your place and conduct a survey to understand
satisfaction of the passengers on the facilities and services provided by that airport.
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