People Moving: Behind the Scenes at Airports

There's much more to taking an airline flight than meets the eye.

When flying a commercial airline, you know you're putting yourself in the hands of a corporation. Its employees check you in, handle your baggage and operate the aircraft in which you fly. The airline is also responsible for de-icing your aircraft in freezing weather so it can fly safely.

But the major role that the airport itself plays in making sure your flight operates safely isn't so visible.

"Public safety and security is our biggest role," said Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) spokesman Scott Wintner. WCAA operates Detroit Metro Airport, a Northwest Airlines hub that saw 481,740 aircraft operations last year. The Airports Council International (ACI) ranked Detroit Metro as the 11^th busiest airport in the United States and the 19^th busiest in the world.

Nearly 36 million passengers used Detroit Metro in 2006--almost 100,000 a day on average. Every day more than 18,200 people work there.

Like other airport operators, WCAA must ensure the safety and security of every person present at Detroit Metro. Every worker who has access to secure areas of the airport is given basic security training.

"We're all considered the first line of defense for airport security," said Wintner.

The airport's ability to deal with emergencies and its preparedness for them are just as important.

Airports are responsible for on-property firefighting, emergency medical services (EMS) and police responses. They employ and equip their own firefighting squads, said Dick Marchi, senior advisor for policy and regulatory affairs for ACI - North America.

U.S. rules require that airport firefighters be able to reach the mid-point of the most distant runway from the terminal within three minutes. The first fire engine on the scene must be able to spray 5,000 gallons of retardant foam in the first minute after arriving.

So firefighters at large airports need the fastest and most powerful fire engines available. Detroit Metro constantly reviews the effectiveness and reliability of its firefighting equipment and upgrades it regularly, said Wintner.

Airports also often employ their own police forces and EMS staff, though firefighters are cross-trained in EMS work and often perform this additional role, said Marchi.

Federal regulations require that each U.S. airport create and maintain an FAA-approved emergency response plan and test it by means of a full-scale exercise every two years.

Airlines provide aircraft and volunteers to act as survivors and casualties. The exercise involves working closely with local hospitals, off-airport fire departments and police forces, said Marchi. The U.S. Coast Guard and military installations often get involved, too.

The City of Chicago keeps 1,000 cots, as well as large stocks of blankets, diapers, infant formula and other basics at O'Hare Airport for operational emergencies. Other airports have similar programs.

Every airport is also responsible for keeping its runways and taxiways clear of foreign object debris (FOD), as well as clearing snow and ice from all surfaces on which aircraft move. The airport also must maintain runway and taxiway paving and is responsible for the upkeep of the special lighting and signs required for safe aircraft operation.

FOD can be deadly. A piece of engine-cover dropped by a Continental Airlines DC-10 as it took off from Paris Charles de Gaulle on July 25, 2000 burst a tire on the Air France Concorde that followed on the runway. The tire exploded, sending red-hot rubber into the Concorde's wing fuel tanks to set the aircraft on fire. All 109 onboard and four on the ground were killed when it crashed after takeoff.

At Detroit Metro, a 24-hour airport that has six runways, vans drive down each active runway looking for FOD at least twice per work shift--so each active runway is inspected at least six times a day, said Wintner.

Detroit Metro is proud of its record in snow-clearing. Last year, the American Association of Airport Executives ranked it second only to Anchorage, Alaska's airport for its ability to maintain aircraft operations during heavy snowstorms.

Newly introduced technologies should help airports become safer and more operationally effective, said Marchi. Vancouver and New York JFK are early adopters of a new radar system from British company Qinetiq that can detect FOD on runways and taxiways at a distance of a mile.

Meanwhile, airports in Scandinavia and Germany are introducing new integrated snow-clearing vehicles that plough, sweep and blow snow from runways as they speed along at 40 miles per hour.

These machines also de-ice as they move, obviating the need for separate vehicles to perform each runway-clearing function. Where even the best multi-vehicle snow-clearing teams take 30-45 minutes to clear a runway, the new machines can do the job in 10 minutes, said Marchi.

Aviation insurers say collisions between airport ground vehicles and aircraft cost airlines nearly $5 billion annually. They also cause injuries and fatalities.

Under the FAA's ADS-B initiative, ground service vehicles at U.S. airports will be fitted with receivers that will let their drivers see where aircraft and other vehicles are -- and with transponders that will let pilots and air traffic controllers see them and take preventive action where necessary.

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