Airport Equipment Passengers Often Overlook During A Vacation

Going on vacation might be one of the most exciting occasions a person can experience. Even the day before, the anticipation builds. Vacations are truly an event; from the excitement of being in a new country to the strains of airport security - it’s very rare that you’ll find anything like it.

The process of getting on to the plane is so seamless that you rarely experience or even understand how difficult it really is. If the system works efficiently, you’ll travel thousands of miles safely, while still retaining your belongings. However, if the process fails it leads to considerable conflict. Conflict usually arises because most passengers are unaware of what the aircraft preparation process entails, and after spending large amounts of money, we often expect the process to be instantaneous. As a passenger, we are often so committed to starting our vacation, we often overlook the preparation process entirely.

In this article, we are going to elude to a few different but important devices that make your travel experience so efficient. We may even open your eyes up to the countless moving piece that makes your vacation experience so spectacular.

Let’s begin.

AC Generators

First, as a driver, you know that you cannot turn on the AC without turning on the engine. So too, in order to cool or heat the plane, the engine needs to be on. Unfortunately, airplane fuel is so expensive and detrimental to the environment, a plane’s engine would need to be on for over two hours to heat or cool the cabin, this wasting an immense amount of fuel. Similarly, consider the fact, this same fuel is how you’ll be getting to your destination and not ending up in the ocean. Therefore, fuel is a priceless commodity in air travel and it cannot be wasted. So how does the cabin remain cool in preparation for your presence?

The answer is AC Generators - large industrial generators that emit cool/hot air into the cabin while the plane is being prepared for boarding.

Baggage Trailers/Aircraft Belt Loader

Next, consider how difficult it is to get your bags from the terminal to the correct gate and onto your plane. How does this process happen?

First, in taking your luggage from the terminal to the plane, airport baggage trailers are used.

Airport baggage trailers are vehicles in the arsenal of ground support equipment, used to take people’s baggage from one area to another.

Standing as a series of carts all connected together airport baggage trailers are filled to the brim with your luggage. The vehicle is then driven from the end of the carousel to your plane. Open on both sides, loading, and unloading onto the cart is more efficient.

The trailer on average can withstand about three thousand pounds per trailer. Suitcases generally range from fifty to seventy-five pounds and considering each flight can hold up to one hundred and fifty to five hundred people, it’s likely each cart contains a huge number of suitcases.

An aircraft belt loader is a vehicle with a conveyor belt, used for loading and unloading of baggage on aircraft. The top of the belt loader rests on the door sill of an aircraft hold. Your luggage is loaded onto the bottom of the belt, and as the belt rotates, it carries the luggage from the ground to the aircraft hold.

Thankfully, the process is reversed once you reach your destination and luggage is placed back on the carousel, where you retrieve it in baggage claim.

Both airport baggage trailers and aircraft belt loaders can be electrical, thus saving carbon emission at the airport that already generates a lot of pollution.

Without these pieces of equipment, you’re even less likely to retrieve your luggage at your new destination. If you travel often, it’s incredibly likely that you have seen one of these vehicles in action, and they’re probably some of the most interesting vehicles to watch.

Aircraft Chocks

While your luggage is being loaded and unloaded on to the aircraft, the plane is still running, so what’s preventing it from taking off?

Keeping the wheels in place are aircraft chocks. Shaped like door wedges and working in the same manner, these shocks prevent the aircraft from rolling around while workers are working around it.

Aircraft chocks are probably the most overlooked pieces of equipment on this list. They are so small and seemingly insignificant, but without a chock in place, the aircraft will roll away causing accidents and possibly even death.

Airport Baggage Carts

Once you’ve reached your destination, and collected your bags off the carousel. You tend to utilize a piece of equipment that is often overlooked. This piece of airport equipment is the baggage cart.

The baggage cart holds you bags as you travel from gate to gate or to the terminal’s exit to continue your vacation. These carts are perfect, as you now no longer need to carry or wheel all of your bags around; instead, you can place ever bag you’ve carried onto the cart, and in one swift motion, you can wheel everything to your next destination.

Finally, did you know everything we’ve discussed can be purchased? Small aircraft owners or airport owners have utilized a number of these items for their use, and each one is for sale.

As aircraft travel has become increasingly popular over the years, more and more people have become invested in private travel, either renting or owning their own plane, jet or helicopter. As a result, in order to help their equipment function, certain companies have been able to supply these members of the aviation community with high-quality items for sale.

As we discussed before, air travel is an exciting experience, nevertheless, it’s amazing to consider that without each of these pieces of equipment, your vacation experience could be radically different - disorganized, stressful and slow.

With more knowledge, hopefully, you have a better understanding of how the process works and maybe you now know enough to discuss it with friends and family.