Jet bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The word “jetway” is sometimes used for a high-altitude airway.
| Jet bridge | |
|---|---|
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| Stearns Airport Equipment passenger boarding bridges at Denver International Airport | |
| Ancestor: | none |
| Related: | Loading bridge, Aerobridge/Airbridge |
| Descendant: | None |
| Carries: | Pedestrians |
| Span range: | 40'-140' |
| Material: | Steel |
| Movable: | Yes |
| Design effort: | Low |
| Falsework required: | No |
A jet bridge (also termed loading bridge, aerobridge/airbridge, Jetway™, or passenger boarding bridge) is an enclosed, movable connector which extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, thereby enabling passengers to board and disembark without having to go outside. It is a type of movable bridge.
A jet bridge or passenger boarding bridge is a revolutionary solution introduced by Jetway® Systems in 1959 when it designed, manufactured and installed the world's nineteen first passenger boarding bridges in the history of commercial aviation. Since then, Jetway has manufactured and installed more than 7,000 bridges worldwide.
Jetway is a registered trademark of FMC Technologies; however, it is often used in North American parlance to refer generically to any bridge used to board an aircraft, regardless of manufacturer.
This forward-looking invention changed the history of how airports and airlines would handle ground operations for the upcoming years, and had a tremendous impact on airport planning and airport expansion around the world.
ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems and FMC Technologies-Jetway, are the two the largest manufacturers of this equipment in the world.
Prior to the introduction of jet bridges, passengers would normally board an aircraft by walking along the ground-level tarmac and climbing a set of movable stairs, or by descending airstairs, in aircraft so equipped. Airstairs are rarely used today, but mobile staircases are still employed at many airports around the world, particularly at small regional airports that only service small carriers.
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[edit] Advantages
Loading bridges provide all weather dry access to aircraft and enhance the security of terminal operations. They are often permanently attached at one end by a pivot (or rotunda) to the terminal building and have the ability to swing left or right. The cab, located at the end of the loading bridge, may be raised or lowered, extended or retracted, and may pivot, in order to accommodate aircraft of different sizes. These motions are controlled by an operator's station in the cab. The cab is provided with an accordion-like canopy, which allows the bridge to dock with aircraft with differing contours, and provide a nearly weather-proof seal.
Some airports with international gates, such as Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Dubai International Airport, and Incheon International Airport have two bridges for larger aircraft with multiple entrances. In theory, this allows for faster boarding and disembarking of larger aircraft, though it's quite common to use one bridge for only passengers in first class and business class, while the other bridge is only for the use of passengers in economy class. With the arrival of the full double-deck airliners such as the Airbus A380, it is expected that each deck will have one or more loading bridges. Such connectors are being constructed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and are already in use at Singapore Changi Airport with the A380.
Though loading bridges are usually permanently attached at their terminal-building end, leaving only the cab free to move, this is not always the case. Those at Melbourne Airport's international terminal are anchored in the middle and movable at either end – the terminal building-end can be raised or lowered to connect with either the departures level or the arrivals level of the terminal building.
[edit] Disadvantages
Loading bridges restrict aircraft parking to spots immediately adjacent to the terminal. Thus, some airports such as Bristol International Airport still use mobile staircases to facilitate boarding at hardstands (remote parking positions). Also, in some cases in winter, the loading bridge may get frozen stuck to the aircraft, and could be hard to deice it, and may cause damage to the aircraft.
[edit] Use and appearance
At the airport terminal, the bridge is connected to a portal (called a "gate") in the terminal wall behind the gate desk. Once airplane boarding starts, passengers hand in their boarding passes to the gate's attendant, who lets them pass through.
Inside, the bridge looks much like a narrow but lighted hallway in an office building, without doors. Loading bridges are constructed without windows The walls are normally painted in accordance with airline standards, generally with relaxing colors. Some bridges have advertisements on interior or exterior walls. Manufacturers also build jet bridges with glass walls.
By using a retractable tunnel design, loading bridges may retract and extend varying lengths. Some airports use fixed walkways to effectively extend the reach of a loading bridge. The fixed walkway extends out from the terminal building and connects to the loading bridge rotunda. Occasionally, fixed bridges lead to multiple loading bridges.
The cab of the loading bridge is raised and lowered in order to dock with aircraft of differing sill heights. The height of the cab is matched to the height of the aircraft door sill height. This often results in a slope along the length of the loading bridge.
 Interior of a typical jet bridge |
 A short fixed bridge connected to a loading bridge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport |
 ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems' Crystal glass walled PBB at Incheon Airport |
 Vacant glass walled jetway at Houari Boumedienne Airport |
 Inside a ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems' glass walled bridge |
 Glass walled jetways at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport |
 ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems bridge at Vancouver International Airport |
 Westjet's ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems and Dew Engineering equipment at Calgary International Airport |
 A glass walled jetway in Kuala Lumpur International Airport |
 Frontier Airlines Stearns Airport Equipment bridges in Concourse A at Denver International Airport |
 A flag flies over Gate A17's jetway at Newark Liberty International Airport, after United Airlines Flight 93 took off from that jetway on September 11, 2001, and crashed into rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania. |
 A Shuttle by United plane at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. |
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] See also
- Airstair
- Moveable bridge for a list of other movable bridge types
- Covered bridge
