Airport

There is no doubt that it's hard to overestimate all the importance of proper functioning of a contemporary airport, no matter whether it is a local airport or an international one. Any person who has ever used the services of aircraft companies and had an opportunity to observe common procedures and processes that usually occur inside and outside the terminals while waiting for the flight will agree with this fact without hesitation. Taking into account the fact that every international airport usually has several hundred departure and arrival flights per day, it's possible to imagine what a high level of accuracy is needed in order to make this system function properly, without delays and mistakes, for a mistake in this situation can be a risk of human lives. Recent tragic events caused by terrorist attacks show that there is still a lot to be done to improve the system in order to make it perfect.

An airport can be viewed as a complex multi-level mechanism, proper functioning of which depends on correct work of its sub-mechanisms, which in their turn divide in their own mechanisms. As in any mechanism, malfunction of one detail can halt the work of the whole system, that’s why it is significantly important to dispatch and monitor all the processes that take place in an airport, keeping them under severe control. This is where an airport operator\'s skills and knowledge comes into concern. To be able to handle such a large aircraft flow day and night, it would be impossible to work without reliable computer software and huge databases which will ensure strict and precise delivery of information. Even more important is to have a perfectly functioning plane tracking system. It is clear that in order to be able to operate such complicated equipment special training with personnel must be conducted on a continuous basis.

It is natural that in order to maintain the needed level of safety and accuracy in operating an airport, it needs to be adequately financed. Recently it became normal that big international airports, having once been financed by government, now function as business enterprises. Still, assuming the safety of passengers and other citizens, governmental involvement into airport operations is a must.

While the airport operator naturally focuses on maintaining safe day to day operations it must be recognized that it is still possible for an aircraft accident to occur on or in the vicinity of an airport. Governmental institutions that are concerned with civil aviation regulations oblige the airport operator to prepare for such a possible occurrence, and for other emergencies including building fires, bomb scares or aircraft terrorist hijack, spillages of hazardous materials, and natural disasters. These plans must be prepared in conjunction with ambulance, police, fire service and other agencies expected to respond in case if such an emergency occurs. The airport operator must also plan to resume normal operations as soon practicable after the emergency has been dealt with.

Beside high level of safety, an appropriate level of service must be reached. Customer and passenger services having at its disposal mostly female staff are responsible for this matter to the utmost. In order to satisfy a passenger, he or she must be able to get full range of services, such as fair flights schedule information, pleasant lobbying and lounge services, food services, quick and accurate ticketing, polite boarding, enjoyable flight with a delicious flight kitchen. As shows the statistics, about 82% of positions mentioned above are occupied by women in the world’s busiest airports. This must be a proof of the fact that women have much better influence on the customer groups especially in these positions; therefore the number of conflict situations is decreased. It is very important that ground handling and processing of the passengers were conducted with the highest level of utilization, meaning that the transition of passengers between ground and air side must be made as safe and secure as possible, and within a shortest range of time. The terminal building, in its turn, may have additional outlets in order to increase the level of service which is available mainly to passengers, as well as to their friends and relatives.  

Besides different organizational problems, airport management constantly faces hostile resident groups, conflicting on the grounds of harmful influence of airport on their safety, environment and quality of life. In order to eliminate black publicity, the airport operators must be ready to conduct effective public relations campaigns, in order to show its readiness to meaningfully fix the matter. An airport itself really has a harmful influence on environment, that’s why the management of the airport must control far larger territory then the territory of the airport and its vicinity. Surrounding air space must be protected as well in order to avoid problems which may be caused by intersection of air vehicles that take off and those that land. Along with this the technical facilities of the airport must constantly be in perfect condition and must be a subject of frequent inspections. The inspections are needed because any small malfunction of a facility may lead to a large-scale calamity that in turn can cause an aircraft accident with a human losses and considerable damage.

Recent tragic events caused by terrorist attacks vividly show of what importance it is to maintain order and accuracy in the airport. All the rules and procedures set in the terminal must be executed implicitly. We can see that the boarding system in international airports is far not perfect. Not long ago a group of European journalists took an experiment in about 20 world’s biggest airports: they tried to carry through the security the same plastic knives that were used by terrorists on September 11 in New York; only in 7 cases out of more than 20 they were disclosed. These facts portray unpleasant situation, meaning that public aircraft is still a potential weapon of a terrorist. Having this in mind becomes clear that only through tight networking between airport subdivisions a high level of safety can be reached.