Airport Managers Should Have Ground Access In Aviation

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Airports are vast facilities covering many acres of land where passenger beginning the flight portions of their travels. The first flight by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903 only required a runway. As the technology of flight advanced to offer passenger service, there was soon a need for a building to manage passenger needs. Airports of today provide many key services needed for the traveler whether they are beginning, transferring, or ending their journeys. The demand for air transportation rises each year, according to the Department of Transportation (United States Department of Transportation, 2013) 815.3 passengers traveled by airplanes in 2012. With the demand expected to rise, airports must be able to keep pace with services. …show more content…

Ground access covers the mode of transport travelers, employees, and freight use going to and from an airport. For small airports in rural areas the most common mode used is a personal vehicle, while in urban area there are more options available to choose from including cars, busses, trains, subways, and taxis. Modern day airport should utilize many different forms of public transportation while encouraging its use by passengers in an effort to reduce traffic congestion of roads leading to the airport. The airline companies only focus on the plane segment with no consideration of how passenger travel to and from the terminal, which is why airport managers must plan for ground access in the design of an airport and infrastructure required in adjacent area around the airport.
Passengers driving personal cars account for about 56 percent of ground traffic, “It is estimated that an airport handling 45 million passengers annually can generate up to five million miles of ground access travel every day. The majority of these journeys are undertaken by private cars” (Budd, 2014, para. 3). Proper planning for ground access must encompass planning with local government, highway department, and local transit officials. Additionally, the plans must not only focus on current transportation levels but plans should focus or future requirements as the amount of travelers …show more content…

They evolved from a single room building with little to offer in passenger amenities, to massive multilevel structures allowing more planes to access the terminal and providing vital services to passengers. The planning of an airport takes in account the needed depending on mode of transport used by passengers to and from the airport. As passengers make their way to the boarding gate airports look for more efficient ways to insure that their luggage arrives at the plane. Even though Denver’s baggage system failed, it shows how the future of baggage transport is developing. While the size of airport terminals grew, airports have developed ways to ease the distance passengers walk by installing moving walkways or a tram system. It is apparent that modern day airport should have no problem keeping pace with the increases in passengers and moving them efficiently through the

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