Boarding stairs

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Passenger boarding stairs Stairs on aircraft.JPG
Passenger boarding stairs

Boarding stairs, sometimes called boarding ramp or gangway in the case of ships, [1] are devices designed to safety standards, [2] which facilitate the access of passengers and crew to ships or on aircraft when no built-in stairs are available. Larger aircraft may use one or more fingers attached to the terminal building for passenger boarding, but boarding stairs are used when these are not available or it is impractical or too expensive to use them. [2]

Contents

Description

Boarding stairs with canopy Spring Airlines aircraft with passenger boarding stairs @ PVG.jpg
Boarding stairs with canopy

Boarding stairs must be robust and stable, capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions. They are designed to adapt to the curved shape of the aircraft fuselage and to be able to raise and lower them to adjust the upper platform to the specific height of the aircraft to which they must be attached, allowing passengers get on and off from the ground to the aircraft door, thus providing a comfortable and safe way for boarding and disembarking. which is part of the airport infrastructure. [3]

They are generally mobile stairs, attached to a chassis that is equipped with wheels in order to facilitate their transport. They can occasionally be pushed by hand, but usually they are pulled by tractors [4] or are self-propelled, being permanently mounted on a specialized vehicle, a pseudo-van, with an electric or gasoline engine, which transports the stairs around the airport and places them attached to the side of the aeroplane door. [5]

Smaller units are generally moved by being towed or pushed, while larger units are self-propelled. They are usually adjustable in height to accommodate different aircraft. Optional features may include canopies, heating, supplemental lighting and a red carpet for VIP passengers; most models have a handrail for added safety. As larger aircraft have door thresholds between 1.5m and 6.1m high, boarding stairs make it easier for passengers to get on and off comfortably by providing a means of secure connection between the aircraft doors and the airport floor, following the rules stipulated by the "Dynamic Regulation System" [6]

Jet bridges

Closed walkways at Frankfurt am Main Airport A380 of Lufthansa at FRA EDDF 2011-06-26.jpg
Closed walkways at Frankfurt am Main Airport

Today, almost all large airports with modern check-in and boarding rooms predominantly use closed walkways, the so-called fingers, which, although firmly connected to the door, can move in two or three dimensions, being able to adapt in this way, to the doors of the airplane cabin. This allows passengers to board the aircraft directly without disembarking at the airfield during boarding. The first enclosed walkway was introduced by American Airlines in San Francisco in 1959. 1st Class passengers used the so-called "Jet Airwalk", [7] while the 2nd Class walkway was the "Jetway". [8] This method of boarding the plane, although it is the most comfortable for the passenger, consumes more resources of the airport, which, consequently, charges the airlines. In order to save costs, some low-cost airlines often forgo this upgrade and use the classic boarding stairs. Depending on building design, sill heights, fueling positions, and operational requirements, a jet bridge may be fixed or movable, swinging radially, and/or extending in length. [9] The jetway was invented by Frank Der Yuen. [10]

Ship's boarding stairs

Ship's boarding stairs 12 Pollux gangway Torshavn 300918.jpg
Ship's boarding stairs

There is also a type of boarding stairs for ships or yachts, known as a gangway, which are structures designed to facilitate safe access between the dock or auxiliary boats and the ship. In the case of a yacht, the choice of the most suitable type of boarding ladder will depend on the size of the yacht, the space available on the dock, etc. [11]

There are different types of boarding stairs: [12]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Definition: Gangway from 29 CFR § 1918.2". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  2. 1 2 "ARP836A: Design and Safety Criteria for Passenger Boarding Stairways". SAE International. 1975-03-03. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  3. ↑ Rauth, M.D.; Skipper, M.F. (1985). Air Passenger Specialist (AFSC 60550) (in Norwegian). Extension Course Institute, Air University. p. 82. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  4. ↑ "Escaleras de embarque remolcables". Oshkosh Aerotech (in Spanish). 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  5. ↑ "Escaleras móviles de embarque de pasajeros". Oshkosh Aerotech (in Spanish). 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  6. ↑ "Dynamic Regulatory System". Dynamic Regulatory System. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  7. ↑ Aviation Week, Including Space Technology. McGraw-Hill. 1959. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  8. ↑ Flug-Revue, Dezember 1959, S. 2
  9. ↑ Gesell, Laurence E. (1992). The Administration of Public Airports. Chandler, Arizona: Coast Aire. pp.  114–115. ISBN   0-9606874-7-5.
  10. ↑ Burl Burlingame (2013). I'll Fly to Hawaii — A century of Aviation. Pacific Monograph. p. 135. ISBN   9780962922763.
  11. ↑ "Boarding Stairs » C-Quip". Home » C-Quip. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  12. ↑ Merrien, Jean (2014-08-14). Dictionnaire de la mer (in French). Paris: Omnibus. ISBN   978-2-258-11327-5.
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