Airport operations encompass all the processes that are part of an airport’s service. These processes include governance, licensing, and resolving legal issues, air and ground traffic control, maintenance, ground handling, and security. As an airport is a complex system of multiple interdependent elements, managing all of these elements is a challenging task. Although multiple standards and regulations exist that govern various aspects of an airport’s function, each facility is designed independently, causing different approaches to meeting these standards. Furthermore, airports remain in function for decades, often being designed before new standards are enacted and receiving modifications for which they were not originally designed. Because of this, each airport is a unique system, the operation of which requires specialized knowledge and understanding of not only the general standards but the particular airport’s specifics.
As entities that operate in a tightly regulated international space, airports are subject to heavy standardization. Furthermore, operation processes are usually carried out by several independent entities. Thus, the organization and licensing of these groups encompass a significant portion of an airport’s operation. Air traffic control is necessary to ensure that aircraft movement is safe and quick; ground traffic follows the same goals for landed aircraft and ground vehicles. Ground handling encompasses towing, maintaining, refueling, loading and unloading, transporting passengers and luggage to and from the terminal, and other services necessary for the operation of an aircraft. Finally, due to the potentially disastrous consequences of an emergency situation at an airport or in-flight aircraft, maintaining safety and security at every part of the airport operation is crucial. As each of these parts can be performed by a different entity or entities, managing their cooperation and interaction is a complex, but necessary task.
Ground handling — challenges facing facility security
Although international security standards exist, their implementation is not always consistent or even technically possible, particularly in smaller airports. Furthermore, because of different airports’ unique designs, the specific implementation of a security system will differ between them. However, the ultimate goal of prevent dangerous materials or terrorists from entering an airport’s premises or aircraft. To this end, security measures are often designed specifically for a particular airport, taking into account its scope of operation, nature and frequency of operation, and other factors.
Considering the significant number of employees in an airport, and the importance of areas restricted for security reasons, staff identification is a crucial part of an airport’s landside security. Most often, it is achieved by a system that utilizes magnetic or chip cards that allow employees to enter restricted areas (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Such a system also allows maintaining records of authorized employee movement through the facility by logging his or her use of the card (Kazda & Caves, 2015). However, each authorized person is a potential point of a security breach due to the possibility of losing the card or having it stolen. Thus, maintaining such a system is a significant challenge for ground handling personnel. Although personnel identification systems can be enhanced with additional measures, including biometric devices, this increases the complexity and costs associated with maintaining the system (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Ultimately, however, the most significant challenge faced by airport security is the potential severity of the consequences of security failure. Because of this, there is no margin of error for security measures; every aspect of a facility’s security system should be as resilient to errors as possible. Thus, adapting to new threats and changing security regulations and guidelines is a complex, challenging task.
Government oversight on air cargo security
To ensure the safety and security of air transport, including air cargo, international standards have been drafted. Most of these standards are enforced by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); they must be unconditionally followed to ensure international air navigation security (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Furthermore, acceptance of ICAO recommendations is considered to be desirable (Kazda & Caves, 2015). These form the basis of government oversight on air cargo security.
After the September, 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the threat of subsequent attacks on or using aircraft has become a matter of national security. The government oversight on air transport, and specifically air cargo security has increased. The U.S. enforces additional legislation intended to improve air cargo security. These measures primarily target two threats: “in-flight detonation of explosives concealed in an air cargo shipment and the hijacking of a large all-cargo aircraft” (Elias, 2018, para. 1). To combat these threats, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) worked together with ICAO to improve existing worldwide standards regarding screening of cargo and the standardization of screening equipment (Elias, 2018). Nonetheless, as total cargo screening is considered unrealistic or impossible, risk-based evaluations of shipments are being used.
Risk-based programs include the known shipper program and certified cargo screening program. Under the former, an industry-wide database is maintained, containing shippers that are approved for shipping cargo aboard passenger aircraft; other shippers cannot be placed on such aircraft, including inbound international flights (Elias, 2018). The latter program aims to minimize logistical complexities related to screening air cargo at off-airport locations before it is loaded onto aircraft (Elias, 2018). Together, these two programs are aimed at optimizing the screening of cargoes to improve air security while also reducing the amount of unnecessary work.
Economic impact
Air transportation in general significantly contributes directly and indirectly to the economy. The direct contribution is enabled by the substantial amount of jobs that airports can create in the local area, whereas the indirect contribution is achieved through enabling other industries, such as tourism (Dimitrios & Maria, 2018). These contributions are particularly high in regions where the tourism industry is prominent. Furthermore, as evidenced by research in Greece, the air transportation industry is economically resilient, sustaining limited losses in income and employment growth even during economic downturns (Dimitrios & Maria, 2018). In the U.S., airports also represent a significant portion of the national economy. Commercial airports are estimated to directly create 1.2 million jobs, with an overall direct economic output of $277 billion (Airports Council International [ACI], 2018). Indirectly, a total output of $1.4 trillion constitutes a significant portion of the nation’s GDP (ACI, 2018). Thus, airports create a significant economic impact on local and national scales.
By facilitating quick transportation of passengers and cargoes, airports enable other industries to thrive. In addition to bringing in visitors who contribute to the local economy, airports also attract businesses that operate within their grounds, such as car rentals or restaurants. They can also be crucial contributor to local businesses; for example, the Aransas County Airport in Texas is critical for transporting oil workers to and from oil platforms (Texas Department of Transportation, 2018). Ultimately, an airport is a significant economic factor that encourages the growth of local businesses while also attracting new players to the economy, as well as creating substantial amounts of jobs. This bolsters competition and creates a major positive influence on the local economy.
Airport security and its challenges
Airport security concerns all unlawful acts on an airport’s grounds, their detection, prevention, and resolution. The perpetrators of such acts can range from international terrorists to disruptive passengers (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Airport security measures are aimed at mitigating the potentially significant threat of unlawful acts aboard aircraft in flight. To that end, significant limitations on the luggage passengers are allowed to take with them, particularly liquids, aerosols, and directly dangerous items such as weapons. However, such serious threats are rare, with the majority of incidents related to unruly and disruptive passengers (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Thus, maintaining airport security requires a balance of measures intended to protect passengers from ill-intentioned individuals hiding among them.
An airport’s space can be designed to facilitate security by following certain principles. Surveillance, a critical part of security, can be easily achieved in a large, open interior space; however, the same spaces can cause discomfort for passengers (Kazda & Caves, 2015). High passenger density can have a similar negative effect; therefore, ensuring a balance between ease of surveillance and passenger comfort is a major step during an airport’s initial design (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Complicating matters further, old airports were designed and built before modern security regulations went into effect or measures became available (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Furthermore, new measures can become available in the future, or new regulations can be legislated to address emerging threats (Kazda & Caves, 2015). This ongoing process of adapting an existing airport to new circumstances is a critical part of ensuring that an airport remains safe secure as time goes on.
Considering the high potential danger of security breaches at an airport and the high likelihood of international involvement in such incidents, individual states can impose and implement regulations concerning airport security. They can implement more or less stringent security requirements based on a risk assessment, while remaining within the ICAO regulations (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Thus, receiving an airport identificantion card requires a 5-year background check in EU countries, whereas some countries extend this check to a 20-year period (Kazda & Caves, 2015). State security regulations can also concern passengers and cargoes; therefore, it is crucial to be aware of such regulations that apply to both sides of an interstate or international flight.
Since a security breach at an airport generally constitutes a criminal act, airport security must work closely with local law enforcement to ensure protection. This means that a specialized force dedicated to airport security can be drafted from, or provided by, the local police. Occasionally, local military or paramilitary forces may be employed in this capacity. In any case, an airport’s security must comply with the local law enforcement regulations.
Cargo operations
A significant amount of cargo is transported by aircraft today. While mail is the most notable type of cargo, both currently and historically, air freight is not limited to it. 60% of freight is carried by passenger aircraft in specialized compartments (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Importantly, cargo flow can be asymmetrical, that is, demand and rates can be significantly higher in one direction than the opposite (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Therefore, an aircraft can arrive at an airport carrying cargo, but leave with passengers. Some are specifically designed to be quickly convertible by removing passenger seats to increase their freight capacity (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Furthermore, significant competition exists between airports for cargo flights, particularly in Europe (Kupfer, et al., 2016). Because of this, transporting and handling cargo is a significant part of airport operations.
In an airport terminal, cargo is taken through several operations. It arrives by one mode of transport, often trucks, and then has to be sorted, packaged, loaded into aircraft, and, possibly, stored (Kazda & Caves, 2015). A similar process is required to handle cargo arriving by plane. During these processes, documentation, such as submission, completion, and transmission, is crucial (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Importantly, significant portions of the cargo handling process are entirely manual, necessitating special consideration in designing and managing this part of an airport’s operation (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Considering the potential threats during cargo handling, security is another significant concern in cargo operations. Specific elements of a cargo security system include CCTV systems, access control for visitors and staff, employee background checks, and systems which can detect dangerous or illicit cargo, such as explosives (Kazda & Caves, 2015). Thus, a well-operated cargo operation system is expedient, reliable, and secure.
Impact of air cargo disruptions on the supply chain
Some industries rely on fast transportation and delivery of relatively small volumes of goods in their operation. For these industries, choosing to transport their goods by aircraft is an obvious solution. However, this reliance creates a dependency for such businesses where disruptions affecting the air transport can cause a significant detrimental effect further along the supply line. Industries that heavily rely on air transport include the flower trade, mail, clothing and fashion industry, and high-value personal electronics, such as smartphones. Flowers in particular are a highly perishable good, and even slight delays in delivery can lead to the shipment being spoiled, thus incurring significant losses at every link in the supply chain. Manufacturers of personal electronics, similarly, derive a substantial portion of their profits from first-day sales. For them, a late delivery can translate to significant lost sales, as well as reputation damage due to the inability to deliver their product on time. This sector in particular uses aircraft to transport components used for the manufacture of its finished product. Therefore, a disruption at one point in the supply chain is likely to cause a chain reaction that incurs heavy losses.
In addition to commercial freight, air cargo is an important contributor to medicine and emergency services. Such cargoes include various precision medical devices, as well as pharmaceuticals and vaccines. These cargoes are both urgent and highly perishable, potentially costing human lives in case of a failed or late delivery. They also have a significant value to weight ratio, thus, suggesting heavy financial losses, as well. Ultimately, using air transport for cargo is an increasingly popular strategy, particularly in some emerging markets. Due to the high value to weight ratios, perishability, and need to quickly respond to consumer demand associated with the cargoes generally transported by air, disruptions in transport service can cause a substantial negative impact.
References
Airports Council International. (2018). Taking America Beyond the Horizon: The Economic Impact of U.S. Commercial Airports in 2017. Web.
Dimitrios, D., & Maria, S. (2018). Assessing air transport socio-economic footprint. International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology, 7(4), 283-290. Web.
Elias, B. (2018). Security of Air Cargo Shipments, Operations, and Facilities. Web.
Kazda, A., & Caves, R. E. (2015). Airport Design and Operation (3rd ed.). Emerald Group.
Kupfer, F., Kessels, R., Goos, P., Van de Voorde, E., & Verhetsel, A. (2016). The origin-destination airport choice for all-cargo aircraft operations in Europe. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 87, 53-74.
Texas Department of Transportation. (2018). Texas Aviation Economic Impact Study. Web.