Plans, organizes, supervises, and directs operations, as well as performs training, scheduling, and assignments from the Deputy Director, to name a few responsibilities. Responsible for reporting and disseminating information to the public on airport activities and facility conditions, safety and hazards, and information services through a team of Airport Operations Supervisors and the Noise Abatement/Environmental Compliance Officer. Ensures that programmes are compliant with regulatory agencies; implements changes or improvements to the airfield’s daily operations; continuously monitors skill levels and determines training needs; coordinates, monitors, and evaluates law enforcement, ARFF, air traffic control, and snow removal operations; reviews airport regulations; recommends service improvements; works with tenants to gain compliance with federal, state, and county regulations for the safety. Attends public meetings about airport operations; organizes the updating of the Airport Certification Manual, Airport Emergency Plan, Airport Security Manual, and Airport Snow and Ice Control Plan; and performs emergency drills and reviews.
Municipalities, states, counties, and cities own some airports. Others are run as privately held companies.
Typically, an airport is controlled by a director or manager who reports to the airport’s private owners or local government authority. The airport manager must be skilled in public relations, economics, business management, civil engineering, personnel management, labour relations, and politics, among other things. If the manager is a small airport owner, he or she most likely also runs an aircraft repair shop, sells aviation fuel, conducts flight instruction, and provides taxi or charter flights.
Involved in executive business decisions, the manager may be needed to:
Make and enforce rules and regulations at the airport. Maintenance and safety measures should be planned and overseen. Leases with airport tenants, such as airlines, are negotiated. Make recommendations after conducting a survey of the airport’s future needs. Make a budget for the airport. Encourage people to use the airport. Employees should be trained and supervised. The manager may supervise an assistant manager, engineer, controller, personnel officer, maintenance supervisor, and support office workers, depending on the size of the airport (such as secretaries, typists, and clerks). If the manager is self-employed as a small airport operator, he or she most likely also maintains an aircraft repair shop, sells aviation fuel, teaches flying, and provides air taxi or charter flights.
Our economy relies heavily on aviation, and new opportunities will always arise. Today, major airports are expanding, while smaller “reliever” airports are being improved to accommodate general aviation traffic relocating from congested airports. Low-cost airlines have also helped to expand the industry’s possibilities.
Aviation’s growing economic importance and the advent of quieter planes appear to have influenced public attitudes toward airport construction in some communities. Airport management and support workers will have more opportunities as a result of these trends.
The importance of Cargo in delivering vital cargo, such as the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, has lately been highlighted. In comparison to passenger traffic, cargo growth has shown to be more resilient.
According to the ACI’s Annual World Airport Traffic Report, passenger traffic fell by 63 percent in the first ten months of 2020, but cargo growth was less dramatic, decreasing by only 11 percent. High demand for e-commerce goods and a recovering industrial sector, particularly in Asia – a well-known barometer for global air cargo – are contributing to air freight’s performance.
Despite the recent attention, airports may not fully understand the potential of cargo development because cargo accounts for a small percentage of overall airport earnings. Air freight has a strategic significance to airports, in addition to its financial value, because it is critical to its clients and stakeholders, particularly airlines, ground handlers, freight forwarders, and shippers. Furthermore, air cargo adds enormous economic value to the region/country where the airport is located, facilitating local trade and recruiting new high-value companies. This job underlines the need of airports collaborating with local residents and trade representatives.
Developing a cargo plan is a difficult undertaking, especially when considering potential roadblocks such as a lack of data, rigid policies, or just a lack of expertise with the subject. Airports should at the very least grasp their current market situation, according to a rational step-by-step approach. The airport may describe its strategy and expand cargo capacities once value drivers have been identified and aligned with the local community.
Given the complexity and possible investment required, developing cargo can take a significant amount of work from airports. During the epidemic, cargo has shown to be a valuable source of revenue diversification for airports that have invested in it; this investment can also have long-term good effects on local economies. Airports must assess their cargo potential and develop a conscious cargo plan that includes local communities and government through quantitative and qualitative assessments of cargo’s economic impact.
The airport is a critical component of our air transportation system. A well-equipped airport offers a wide range of services for aircraft, crews, and passengers. These may feature lit runways and taxiways for day and night use, a terminal building with passenger lounge spaces, ramp areas and hangars for aircraft storage, aircraft and avionics maintenance shops, automobile parking lots, and potentially restaurants and shops.
