, Canada Airport operations are made possible by an organized network of trained
personnel, specialized equipment, and
spatial data. After thousands of ground operations staff left the industry during the
COVID-19 pandemic, there have been discussions on the need for systemic improvements in three primary areas: • Digitizing and automating processes
Air traffic control Air traffic controllers on the ground help direct aircraft through a region of airspace, communicating with aircraft to coordinate their paths. Their tasks include maintaining a safe distance between aircraft, avoiding congestion, and rerouting aircraft to deal with adverse weather. Most air traffic control centers can be divided into
terminal control centers, which control the small, highly used region around an airport, and
area control centers, which control aircraft
en route to their destinations in a larger area. Both terminal and area control centers use
radio to communicate with pilots and
radar to track their paths, and in terminal control centers visual observation can also be used, as most aircraft near a terminal control center are either taking off or landing.
Ground control 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 be turned over to tower control. Conversely, after a plane has landed it will depart the runway and be "handed over" from Tower 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 3D 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 to be sure they remain clear of other traffic.
Traffic pattern At all airports the use of a
traffic pattern (often called a
traffic circuit outside the US) is possible. They may help to assure smooth traffic flow between departing and arriving aircraft. There is no technical need within modern commercial 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
ILS equipment, 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
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 controlled airports, a circuit can be in place but is not normally used. Rather, aircraft (usually only commercial with long routes) request approach clearance while they are still hours away from the airport; the destination airport can then plan a queue of arrivals, and planes will be guided into one queue per active runway for a "straight-in" approach. 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, both visual and electronic, though not at all airports. 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 become 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 Taxiway lights use color codes to mark out different sections of the
taxiway. Blue lights normally indicate the edge of the taxiway, and green lights are located in its center. Red lights are placed where the
runway begins, and are turned off once the pilot has gained clearance from the
air traffic control to take off.
Weather observations Weather observations at the airport are crucial to safe takeoffs and landings. In the United States 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 to achieve maximum performance. Because pilots need instantaneous information during landing, a
windsock can also be kept in view of the runway. Aviation windsocks are made with lightweight material, withstand strong winds and some 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) Each airport hires its own ground crew to process flights, cargo, passengers, and baggage. When a flight arrives, ramp services navigate a baggage cart to the aircraft. Bags are then sorted and transported by baggage handlers. Ramp services handle aircraft marshaling, the process in which aircraft arrive or depart from the gate. Once passengers and/or cargo is unloaded, a cleaning crew prepares the aircraft for its next flight by loading supplies and preparing other in-flight services. Ground crew will fuel the aircraft, and other visual inspections are conducted. Efficient work allows aircraft to have fast turnaround times of as little as 25 minutes.
Boeing 777 at
Tokyo Narita Airbus A320-200 at
Durban's
King Shaka International Airport ) of ground crew operations at
Osaka International Airport.
Maintenance management Like industrial equipment or facility management, airports require tailor-made maintenance management due to their complexity. With many tangible assets spread over a large area in different environments, these infrastructures must therefore effectively monitor these assets and store spare parts to maintain them at an optimal level of service.
Safety management Aviation safety is an important concern in the operation of an airport, and almost every airfield includes equipment and procedures for handling emergency situations.
Airport crash tender crews are equipped for dealing with airfield accidents, crew and passenger extractions, and the hazards of highly flammable
aviation fuel. The crews are also trained to deal with situations such as bomb threats,
hijacking, and terrorist activities. Hazards to aircraft include debris, nesting birds, and reduced friction levels due to environmental conditions such as ice, snow, or rain. Part of runway maintenance is
airfield rubber removal which helps maintain friction levels. The fields must be kept clear of debris using cleaning equipment so that loose material does not become a projectile and enter an engine duct (see
foreign object damage). In adverse weather conditions, ice and snow clearing equipment can be used to improve traction on the landing strip. For waiting aircraft, equipment is used to spray special
deicing fluids on the wings. Many airports are built near open fields or
wetlands. These tend to attract bird populations, which can pose a hazard to aircraft in the form of
bird strikes. Airport crews often need to discourage birds from taking up residence. Some airports are located next to parks, golf courses, or other low-density uses of land. Other airports are located near densely populated urban or suburban areas. An airport can have areas where collisions between aircraft on the ground tend to occur. Records are kept of any
incursions where aircraft or vehicles are in an inappropriate location, allowing these "hot spots" to be identified. These locations then undergo special attention by transportation authorities (such as the FAA in the US) and airport administrators. During the 1980s, a phenomenon known as
microburst became a growing concern due to
aircraft accidents caused by microburst
wind shear, such as
Delta Air Lines Flight 191. Microburst radar was developed as an aid to safety during landing, giving two to five minutes' warning to aircraft in the vicinity of the field of a microburst event. Some airfields now have a special surface known as soft concrete at the end of the runway (
stopway or blastpad) that behaves somewhat like
styrofoam, bringing the plane to a relatively rapid halt as the material disintegrates. These surfaces are useful when the runway is located next to a body of water or other hazard, and prevent the planes from overrunning the end of the field. Airports often have
on-site firefighters to respond to emergencies. These use specialized vehicles, known as
airport crash tenders. Most civil aviation authorities have required levels of on-site emergency response capabilities based on an airport's traffic. At airports where civil and military operations share a common set of runways and infrastructure, emergency response is often managed by the relevant military unit as part of their base's operations. ) A970 with
Sumburgh Airport's runway. The movable barrier closes when aircraft land or take off. == Environmental concerns and sustainability ==