Airport Apron Dimensions
What is an Airport Apron?
An airport apron is otherwise known as an airport ramp. It is an actual part of an airport and it serves its own purpose in day to day operations. Simply put, it is the part of the airport that serves as the parking area of airplanes. It is typically a lot more accessible for individuals compared to the taxiway or the airport’s runway.
The airport apron is something like a loading dock where airplanes and other aircraft are loaded and unloaded. This is also the area where airplanes are refueled. The airport ramp is also the specific area in the airport where passengers board the plane. And like much of the other places in an airport, it isn’t accessible to everyone in general. Only those who have the proper licenses and authorization may enter and work in the apron.
Talking about airport apron sizes, you would imagine it to cover a huge area since it should be able to accommodate several airplanes at any given time. An international airport can have an apron with a total area larger than 200 hectares or two million square meters.
The sizes of airport ramps generally depend on the size of the airport, its design, and its intended capacity. Remember that people also work on different aircrafts in the ramp or apron. It serves other purposes other than loading and unloading passengers and cargo.
Airport Apron/Airport Ramp Management
Every vehicle and everyone that moves in airport ramp are considered ‘apron traffic’. Take note that the apron or ramp is always to be considered a work area. There is no place for loitering in this part of the airport. Since this area is rather busy one should expect accident and other incidents to occur. Thus there is a need to manage the operations of the apron.
As per instructions of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the airport ramp should never be considered or used as an area to maneuver an aircraft. This is only one of the regulations used to ensure the protection of all who use this facility.
Ramp/Apron Safety
One of the biggest concerns regarding ramps is personnel, aircraft, and overall facility safety. It is quite sad that ramp accidents often occur since this area of an airport is a bit hazardous. Workers either walk into moving aircrafts or get hit by one. Several safety rules are being implemented in this working area.
One of the most fundamental safety regulations is that if you have no business to be in the ramp then don’t walk around in there. Enter the ramp area only when you are working on an aircraft. If not then it would be better to simply just stay away. Another important rule is to always wear hearing protection. The apron is a particularly noisy area with jet turbines generating really loud noise.
The ramp or apron area is the part of the airport where airplanes get to park, refuel, load/unload, and get boarded. Those who are not working in the area should stay away from this workplace. The size of an apron depends on the airport’s capacity, usually covering several hectares of land area for international airports.
